Resolve of the Undead
by BelleDayNight
Summary: Before Takashi's fierce team hit the road on a quest for survival he crossed paths with the talented Saeko. He was the crush she referred to at the park. Hisashi wasn't bitten and survived the initial invasion of the school. Tensions are high amongst the zombie-slaying team. Can they survive the zombies, their feelings, and their burdens?
1. Chapter 1

**Resolve of the Undead**

H.O.T.D.

**Summary**: Before Takashi's fierce team hit the road on a quest for survival he crossed paths with the talented Saeko. Hisashi wasn't bitten and survived the initial invasion of the school. Tensions are high amongst the zombie-slaying team. Can they survive the zombies, their feelings, and their burdens?

* * *

**Days before the Zombie pandemic…**

It was the first week of school in the fall semester. She was a third year student, captain of the kendo club, a prodigy by all accounts, and Japan's Kendo National Champion. She did well in her classes. And half the male population at her high school had a crush on her. None had acted on their crush, most likely due to their intimidation of her hard stare and cold demeanor. Only one boy, just one, had looked her straight in the eyes. His eyes were a honey-brown color.

At the end of last year she met him in the hall on her way to her locker. They'd bumped into each other and he apologized. Those simple words, "Excuse me," had such a profound impact on her. It was the first time since she could remember that a boy her age hadn't stammered, blushed, or stared at their feet the whole time while addressing her. His name was Takashi Komuro and he was in the class below her at the time, though she had been optimistic about seeing him around campus.

Takashi was stubborn, athletic, quietly contemplative, and skipped a good portion of his classes to brood on the school's rooftop. She'd never actually held a conversation with him outside of that brief exchange in the hall. She did know that he was in love with someone else. He had been in love with a girl named Rei Miyamoto and she had broken up with him last spring. She was the vice president of the martial arts club and was dating Hisashi Igo, the Captain of said club.

The kendo club and the martial arts club often rivaled one another for school funds. Rei wasn't Saeko's favorite person, but she wasn't her least favorite person either.

The dark haired girl in the desk next to her raised her hand. "Teacher?" she asked.

The physics teacher turned from the projector where he was writing out equations and explaining some of Einstein's theories about energy and mass. "Yes, Miss Hotohori?"

Hotohori clutched at her temples. "I have a terrible headache, sir."

Saeko was scribbling a grocery list in her notebook. Her father was overseas in an international martial arts tournament. Her mother had died years ago and she was an only child. She didn't mind grocery shopping. In fact, she loved to cook and enjoyed purchasing the various ingredients, but it was no fun to cook meals for one. She missed her father, especially whenever he wasn't around to share in her cooking.

The teacher sighed and then directed his gaze at Saeko. "Miss Busujima, I believe you are familiar with the nurse's office. Could you guide Miss Hotohori?"

"Of course," Saeko agreed. She set her pen down and closed her notebook. She pushed back her chair and moved for the door. Hotohori quickly scrambled out of her desk and joined Saeko in the hallway. She was quite familiar with the campus clinic having taken several kendo opponents there after an intense sparring session. Nurse Shizuka Marikawa was competent enough, though sometimes she seemed more concerned about wearing fashionable clothing than about the welfare of her patients.

After having dropped off Hotohori, Saeko weighed the idea of heading back to class immediately versus making a detour. The hallways were empty as it was halfway through the class period. She decided to head up to the roof for some fresh air.

It was there that she saw him.

Leaning with his forearms balanced on the rail, the wind tussling his dark hair, stood Takashi Komuro in his black school uniform. Saeko took a deep breath, tugged on the green skirt of her school uniform, and prepared herself to hold a conversation with the boy that had the courage to look her in the eye.

"I can't believe you!" shrieked a golden haired girl marching up the opposite stairs to the roof.

Takashi sighed and turned toward the irate young woman. "Rei," he greeted.

"You!" she shouted. She prodded him in the chest viciously with her index finger. "What is your problem?"

"My problem is that you're a straight A student that elected to be held back a year so you could be with your idiotic boyfriend," Takashi answered.

Saeko smirked. She was familiar with the members of the rival club. Captain Hisashi, a silver-haired, sophomore, martial artist with a black belt in Karate was strong in combat. She'd heard the rumor that his girlfriend had requested to be held back a grade, but here was validation. It seemed unlikely, but who was she to judge.

"And you felt the need to tell my father this!" Rei yelled, her cheeks flushed red in anger. "It wasn't a choice that I was held back!"

"I respect your father. He is an honorable officer of the law. We've known each other's families since before we started kindergarden. When he asked me for the reason you were being held back in school I told him," Takashi answered. "Why else would a straight A student be held back a year?"

"That wasn't the reason! And now father will…"she trailed off. "You're just jealous that I chose your friend Hisashi and not you!" Rei hissed.

Saeko cleared her throat. Both Takashi and Rei turned to face her. The girl's mouth snapped shut and her eyes narrowed in anger.

"Sorry I'm late, Takashi. I would have met you here sooner, but I had to take a classmate to the nurse's office," Saeko explained. She allowed a flirtatious smile to spread across her lips as she sauntered toward the stunned teenaged boy. She ignored Rei completely, but she could sense the other girl's outrage.

"It's fine," Takashi said, catching on to the opportunity to escape more hurtful words by the girl yelling at him.

Saeko crossed the distance and laid a hand on Takashi's shoulder. She leaned close and brushed her lips across his cheek. He reacted stoically without a hint of a blush to the kiss. Why wouldn't she have a crush on this man? Saeko then turned her attention to Rei. "Hello, Rei. I didn't realize that you and Takashi knew each other."

She had to give Rei credit for recovering quickly from her shock. "Hi Saeko. Takashi and I have been friends since before we ever started school. We dated for two years. I didn't realize that you knew Takashi." She had the decency to look embarrassed. "If you don't mind, we were having a private discussion," Rei said, laying a possessive hand on Takashi's arm. Her expression turned smug.

Saeko stared at Rei's hand and contemplated her next move. "I do mind. The girl that dumps my lover for his best friend isn't privy to having a private conversation with him," Saeko said. She grabbed Takashi's wrist and tugged him away from Rei. "We only have a short amount of time before I need to return to class. Broom closet on the second floor?" Rei's eyes grew wide and she stepped back a step in shock.

"Uh, yeah," Takashi agreed. "Sorry, Rei. We can finish this discussion later," he said raising his free hand in a farewell gesture.

They descended down the stairs, Saeko still holding his wrist. Takashi twisted his arm and reversed the grip, so that he, was holding her wrist. He pulled her to a stop on the second floor landing. "Why did you help me?" Takashi asked, his honey-brown colored eyes searching her face.

Saeko stared back at him in uncertainty. "You're a good guy, Takashi." She slipped her hand out his grasp and hurried down the stairs without looking back though she dearly wanted to. At least he knew her name now. It was only the start of the school year. There was plenty of time to cross paths with him again. Right now she was angry. How could someone that so clearly held Takashi's heart, stomp on it so severely?

Unfortunately for her kendo teammates, she had a lot of aggression to work out of her system. Saeko enjoyed inflicting violence on others, it was important that she channel that dark energy into something productive. Maybe that's why no one looked her in the eyes. Perhaps they could see the violence brewing just below the surface and they were right to be scared.

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi watched the beautiful girl with the cool icy blue eyes and long violet hair hurry down the stairs away from him. He wasn't sure who she was, but she at least helped him save face in front of Rei. His old childhood sweetheart had recognized her, which made him think it was someone in the martial arts club.

Her name was Saeko.

He would have asked around, but he didn't have many friends. Rei and Hisashi had been his only real friends for years. At least, they had been until they started dating each other. He couldn't really blame Hisashi, but Rei had changed a great deal in the past year ever since she joined the martial arts club. All she ever did was complain that he wasn't interested in her problems, that he didn't sing enough at karaoke, that he was boring, he wasn't thoughtful enough, he wasn't cute or sweet, and he was too quiet. Maybe Morita or Saya would know something about her.

"What would we have done in the broom closet?" Takashi wondered aloud rubbing the back of his neck.

It looked like the school year might be a little more promising than he anticipated at first. It was time to make some new friends.

He waited for the bell to ring and headed to lunch. Perhaps, if he was lucky he'd be able to find this Saeko amongst the students that shared his lunch period. Normally, he ate lunch on the rooftop, but the thought had been spoiled by his most recent argument with Rei. By the time he made it to the lunch courtyard the line for the cafeteria was pretty long. Unfortunately, he had left his lunch at home.

Takashi started to join the lunch line when he spotted violet hair by the large century tree in the middle of the courtyard. Without so much as a thought, he altered his course for the tree and the girl sitting underneath it. He could get food later. She was eating out of a black lacquered bento box with a plum tree embossed across the top and sides. She was staring absently into the distance.

"Mind if a join you?" Takashi asked, with a nervous smile, standing in front of her with his shadow falling over her.

Her ice blue eyes traveled from his shoes, up the length of his body and then settled upon his face, then back down to his empty hands. She held out her bento box to him. "I have plenty to share," Saeko greeted, her face expressionless. If she was surprised, she didn't show it.

Takashi took the box out of her hand, as well as the chopsticks she held to him. He sat next to her with his back pressed against the century tree. The food within the box was delightful. It melted in his mouth in culinary ecstasy. "This is amazing!" he said turning to her, his mouth full of rice ball.

"Thank you," Saeko said with a small smile. "I enjoy cooking almost as much as I enjoy wielding a sword."

"So, you're on the kendo team then?" Takashi asked. He'd eaten half the bento box before he realized that she might want some of her own lunch. He held the box out to her. "It's really good," he said sheepishly.

Saeko's smile was full blown. "Thank you," she pushed the box back toward him. "You eat it," she offered. She reached into her khaki backpack and pulled out another box. This one was also black lacquered, but with a red cherry blossom tree on it. "I have extra."

"So, I'm Takashi Komuro," he said. "Nice to meet you."

"Saeko Busujima," she replied. "We met last spring."

"I think I would remember you," Takashi answered. He racked his mind and he couldn't remember meeting this beautiful dark haired woman. His miserable summer break would have been a little less miserable if he'd had her to think about in those lonely hours. It would have been a better use of time than visiting the old junk yards with a baseball bat and bashing in the windows of the junk cars slated to be compacted.

She shrugged. "We just bumped into each other in the hall."

He tried to think back. Last spring was when Rei dumped him. He'd walked in on her and Hisashi in the martial arts club dojo. They weren't doing anything bad necessarily, but they'd been sitting on the steps together and he had his arm around her. They were cozy. It was possible that could have been the day of their encounter. Otherwise, there was no possible way he'd have forgotten her. "I'm sorry, I don't remember."

Saeko shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal," she assured him. She concentrated on her bento box and quietly ate.

It was a big deal obviously or else she wouldn't have helped him with Rei on the rooftop. "I really appreciate what you did for me on the roof earlier."

"You didn't deserve to be yelled at like that," Saeko said quietly.

Takashi grinned and gestured between them with his chopsticks. Maybe he did and maybe he didn't deserve to be yelled at. "So, we're lovers, huh?"

A fierce blush spread across Saeko's cheeks. "That was presumptuous of me, my apologies."

"Presumptuous? You're beautiful. A guy should be so lucky as to call you his lover," Takashi argued. He glanced around the courtyard worriedly. "You don't have a real boyfriend that's going to kill me now, do you?"

Saeko chuckled softly. "Hardly." She tucked away her empty bento box and then took his empty box and secured them back inside her school bag. "You should head to class soon. If you keep skipping you'll end up being held back like your friend."

"You know about that?" Takashi asked with a cringe. Great, now she thought he was a lazy idiot. Just like Rei.

"I had hoped we would be in some of the same elective classes this year," Saeko confessed staring down at her knees. "I was disappointed to not share any classes with you."

"Oh," Takashi said. He stared down at his hands unsure of what to say. After all Rei's rejections it was hard to consider the possibility that someone else might find him worth while.

Saeko rose to her feet gracefully and soundlessly. "If you would like, I could bring you a lunch tomorrow," she offered.

Takashi stood up quickly. "I don't want you to go to any trouble," he protested holding his hands out in front of him.

"It's no trouble at all, Komuro," Saeko said. "Try to make your classes this afternoon. I'd hate for you to be held back."

"Please, call me Takashi." The corner of his lip curled into a smile. "Let's meet here for lunch tomorrow then."

"Okay, lover," Saeko agreed with a wink. She walked away from him and out of the courtyard. Stunned, Takashi couldn't withdraw his eyes away from her retreating figure.

When she was no longer in view he shook his head to clear his thoughts. With an enthusiasm he hadn't felt in months he made his way to his fifth period class. It was a subject he shared with both Rei and Hisashi. Thanks to Saeko Busujima he was eager to face the pair confidently.

* * *

_A/N: I'd been toying with writing a fanfiction for this series for years. I recently re-watched the 12 episode first season and I'm such a huge Saeko x Takashi shipper. I really don't care for Rei much as I think she's selfish and only likes Takashi now because there are no better options. Though, she's pretty decent in a fight with her spear attacks. Saeko seems to truly respect Takashi and I'm curious in the series why she is so attached to him. I assume it's because he is the one she had a crush on before the zombie apocalypse. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this!_

_3/25/14, Special thanks to my new Beta Gentizm for helping me polish this chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: So, I don't own H.O.T.D. They are the fun property of Daisuke Sato and I am borrowing them. There are discrepancies between the manga and the anime. I'm going with the anime English dub version as far as Takashi and Rei's former relationship is concerned. They dated, they broke up. I don't intend to bash any of the main characters. You either get redeemed and become a better person, or you die (but just because you die it doesn't mean you were a bad person). As far as style, this story is in English and will be written in proper English as best as I can manage. I'll be minimizing the random Japanese words as much as possible to make this easier to read for those whom English is not their native tongue. I'm changing a lot of the backstory on this tale. I figure since Mr. Daisuke Sato who came up with this brilliant idea is on indefinite hiatus I'll be picking and choosing from the cannon universe so I don't write myself into a corner, which I suspect he may have done._

_Now, on to a very good question: How will it work to have a straight-forward leader like Hisashi and a reluctant leader like Takashi on the same team? If you have ever seen The Walking Dead (one of my favorite shows) Hisashi is like Rick while Takashi is like Daryl. They both are capable leaders, but in different ways. Or if you don't know that series, think TMNT. Hisashi is akin to Leonardo and Takashi is like Rafael. I always liked Rafael more. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Two:**

* * *

**Thursday continued, Six Days before Z-Day**

Rei tapped her pencil on her desk impatiently while waiting for the bell to ring signaling the start of class. Her confrontation with Takashi hadn't gone as planned earlier. She certainly didn't expect to be interrupted by Saeko Busujima. There was no way that she was Takashi's lover. He wasn't clever enough to hide something that big. She didn't mean to yell at him earlier, but he just made her so angry! She didn't chose to repeat her sophomore year. That terrible politician's son, Koichi Shido, wanted her father to suffer and the best way to do so was by sabotaging her academic record.

"Are you okay?" Hisashi asked, his hand gently resting on her arm and stopping her nervous tapping. He was always so concerned. Whenever something was wrong he seemed attuned to know what to ask and when. Unlike Takashi, that lazy bum hardly ever asked her what was wrong. She'd tell him anyway, but he'd grunt at her instead of contributing to the conversation. What sort of relationship focused around grunts? Or else he'd offer the empty consoling words of 'Everything will be okay.' Well, sometimes everything wasn't okay!

"I confronted Takashi," Rei admitted with an angry huff. "He had no right to speak to my father about my having to repeat this grade."

Hisashi's gray eyes stared at her intently for several seconds. "Your father would have found out eventually. You can't keep everything bottled up inside, Rei." His answer was reasonable. Everything Hisashi said was reasonable.

The class bell rang and Hisashi retracted his hand from her and stared forward toward the teacher. Takashi ran into the classroom during the bell's final chime and found his seat before the last sound reverberated. He flashed her a quick smile before settling in his seat diagonal and to her front right. He had some nerve.

"Okay class, today we'll be in the dissection lab. You'll be randomly assigned to groups of three. No trading. No complaining. Am I clear?" Professor Tenzo asked, his dark eyes scanning the room.

She hoped she would be in the same group as Hisashi. His ability to remain calm under pressure would surely translate well to his dissection skills.

"Hisashi Igo, Miku Yuuki, and Rin Matsumoto."

Rei let out a disappointed breath. Hisashi cast her an apologetic look before he left the main classroom for the lab with his two female partners. Rei didn't have a problem with Rin, but she didn't trust Miku. She was the teacher's pet for Koichi Shido. She might do something to sabotage the lab experiment. Or she might try to throw a scalpel into Rei's back.

"Rei Miyamoto, Kohta Hirano, and Takashi Komuro."

Rei laid her forehead flat on her desk for a moment to collect herself. Of course she'd be paired off with Takashi. The fates just kept forcing them together. She straightened her spine and stood from her desk and started for the lab with the two boys following after her. She wasn't familiar with Kohta. He was a heavy-set boy with thick glasses.

"So, dissecting a frog," Takashi stated when the three of them peered down at the amphibian sitting on their lab tray with its legs and arms spread wide and held in place by little pins.

"Way to state the obvious," Rei mumbled. She looked across the lab to see that Hisashi was sharing a laugh with his lab partners. She turned her attention back to Takashi. "How was the broom closet?"

"Broom closet?" Kohta asked, eyes wide behind his glasses.

"Who wants the honors?" Takashi asked ignoring her question. He snapped on a pair of disposable gloves and then picked up the scalpel. He offered it first to Rei then to Kohta, whom both shook their heads. "I guess I'll take the lead then," he said. He bit down on his bottom lip as he concentrated on following the instructions on dissecting their frog properly.

"I'm more of a trajectory sort of guy," Kohta said. He reached up and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "These hands on practices aren't my thing. Give me a controller for a game of Call of Duty and I'm your man." He formed his thumb and index finger into a fake gun and shot at Takashi playfully.

"I'll keep that in mind," Takashi said with a friendly smile.

Rei folded her arms over her chest and read over the instructions and then watched Takashi's actions. "You're supposed to start with the mid-section first," she pointed out. Meanwhile, Takashi's blade lingered over the lower extremity appendages.

He didn't argue, he simply adjusted his cut to the proper location.

"So, when did Saeko Busujima become your lover?" Rei asked. She smirked when Takashi dropped the scalpel. He picked it up from the tray and finished his cuts before setting it aside.

"That's not exactly a topic for classroom discussion," Takashi answered. He snapped off his gloves, tossed them in the waste basket below the table, and wrote down some notes in his notebook.

Rei wanted to press the issue, but she looked up and met Hisashi's cool, gray gaze. He was warning her to focus on her lab experiment. She didn't need any more trouble in school, so she bit back her retort. She'd find out eventually. Though, did it matter? Takashi wasn't her problem anymore. He could do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't talk to her father behind her back!

She couldn't wait for martial arts club after school. Hisashi was going to teach her some hand-to-hand self-defense combat moves that afternoon. She was practically invincible with a spear thanks to her mother's tutelage, but she wanted to be able to hold her own in a fight if she was weaponless too.

* * *

**OoO**

"Do you want to walk together to next period?" Kohta asked after they put away their lab supplies and had gathered their books back in the classroom. Hisashi had escorted Rei back to the classroom as soon as the lab was dismissed and they were long gone by then. "We have Geometry together."

"We do?" Takashi asked looking sidelong at his classmate. How was it that he'd never noticed Kohta before? It was already four days into the first week of school. You'd think he'd have picked up on who his classmates were by now. "Do we have any other classes together?"

"Lunch," Kohta said with a grin. "I saw you sitting with Saeko Busujima under the century tree. I didn't realize you two were a couple until Rei mentioned it."

"We're not. She helped me out in a situation and then we ran into each other during lunch," Takashi said. He and Kohta had fallen into step with one another as they walked down the hall in route for their math class. He scanned the other students in the hall. Admittedly, he was disappointed not to see any violet hair. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed at the direction of his thoughts. He barely knew the girl and yet he was hoping to run into her more. Maybe he should have asked for her phone number.

"Is that why she had a lunch prepared for you?" Kohta asked casually, his expression amused.

Takashi shrugged. He didn't really have an answer as to why Saeko had two lunches and or how she managed to show up at just the right moment to save him from an awkward situation with Rei. "Maybe she's stalking me," he joked.

Kohta sighed with a dreamy expression on his face. "You should be so lucky." His posture immediately stiffened as they drew near the door to their class. His eyes locked on Takashi's oldest friend Saya Takagi. The pink-haired girl stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and an angry glare directed at Takashi.

"You!" she said grabbing hold of the lapels of Takashi's uniform front. "You started dating the ice queen and you didn't bother to tell me?" Each syllable she spoke grew louder and angrier.

"Um, hello, Saya. I'd like you to meet Kohta Hirano. He's my lab partner in Biology," Takashi explained. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the dark-haired boy.

Saya gave Kohta a cursory look and then quickly dismissed him. Her angry eyes focused on Takashi. She grabbed hold of his elbow and dragged him inside the room and marched him to his chair. She seated herself directly in front of him and turned to face him. "You and the ice queen. Spill."

Takashi rubbed the back of his neck. Saya could be so rude! She completely ignored poor Kohta. Why would she call Saeko an ice queen? She was a perfectly friendly girl that was willing to help a guy out of trouble. "We apparently ran into each other last year and I made an impression. We sort of shared lunch together today. She'd made extra and I forgot mine at home." He shrugged. "It just sort of worked out."

Her expression remained suspicious. "Okay," she said after a while. She smiled and her harsh expression softened into a friendly one. "No more skipping out of class to go mope on the roof."

Takashi grinned. "No promises, but I'll try."

* * *

**OoO**

After swinging her bokken in three hundred repetitions, Saeko's arms ached with a heavy soreness. Her goal had been five hundred repetitions, but since her teammates had all left over a half hour ago and she still had errands to run at the market she decided to try and reach her goal the next afternoon.

It was a relief when her teammates had left. Two of the sophomore girls in her club had bothered her about her lunch date with Takashi. She didn't answer them, mostly because she wasn't entirely sure what to think of the situation herself. It was just nice to be on a first name basis with the boy. It seemed that the less she spoke, the more questions the underclassmen had for her.

She stashed her wooden sword into its carrying case and slung it over her shoulder along with her school bag. As she walked out of the Kendo Club's dojo she passed the neighboring Martial Arts Club dojo. She could see Captain Hisashi and Rei practicing hand-to-hand combat. Rei had managed to slip under Hisashi's arms, hit his knees, and send him crashing to the protective matts on the floor. Saeko grinned at seeing the other female defeat the silver-haired captain.

Saeko actually felt a bit grateful to Rei. When Saeko had attempted to find Takashi on the rooftop she wasn't sure what she would actually say to him when she confronted him. She'd dismissed several topics as being cliche, mundane, or stalkerish. The opportunity to cease an uncomfortable argument had been a perfect situation. It resulted in the unexpected benefit of him seeking her out during lunch and now they had a lunch date planned for the next day.

With a lighter, more enthusiastic step Saeko continued on her way to the bus stop. The market was only five stops south of the school. Her family home was only two stops away from the market by subway.

She pulled her recyclable canvas tote bag out of her school bag and began to gather the items from her grocery list. Her list originally was shorter than usual with her father's absence, but now that she intended to make two lunches a day — one for her and one for Takashi — she would acquire her normal amount of supplies. Ingredients were generally best fresh so she went to the market twice a week to keep her pantry and refrigerator stocked properly. She and her father would visit the large shopping center once a month for the non-perishable items. It was impossible to use public transportation with more than one or two grocery bags and her father would drive them to the store on those days. In less than a year, Saeko would be eighteen and she'd be able to drive herself — a topic her father liked to avoid. He didn't want his daughter to grow up and become an independent adult just yet.

After collecting her supplies Saeko went to her regular cashier. "Good evening, Miss Kaede," Saeko greeted. She unloaded her tote bag onto the conveyer belt and then handed the empty bag to the older woman.

"Well hello, Saeko. You're a little later today than usual," Kaede said with a quick glance to the clock hanging on the wall across from her. She adjusted the small frame glasses on her nose until she could see the time clearly. "Did you stay late at kendo practice?"

Saeko nodded. "I was feeling a little anxious and needed the extra workout."

Kaede smiled and shook her head. "You work too hard sometimes, Saeko." She finished placing the last of the vegetables inside of the bag and rung up the total. "That will be twenty-five hundred yen," she said.

Saeko opened her wallet and pulled out the exact change and handed it to Kaede. "Thank you." She collected her bag and slung it on her right shoulder, her school bag and bokken bag were slung across her left shoulder and crossed over her torso so that all the bulk of the bags were on her right side.

"You are welcome, Saeko. See you next Monday," Kaede said with a knowing smile. She was quite familiar with Saeko's shopping routine — Mondays and Thursdays after school.

The walk from the market to the subway station was about four blocks. Saeko always walked home with her bokken bag whenever her father couldn't pick her up from school — which was usually Mondays and Thursdays when she made her quick grocery stop. He taught kendo classes late into the evening on those nights at his private dojo.

Sometimes, Saeko would have flashbacks from her attack four years ago when a man tried to assault her. She wasn't worried about being attacked, what scared her was her violent reactions should someone be stupid enough to try and attack her. Her father assured her that it was because she was a confident young woman and that she had a hero complex. She would have liked to have believed him, but she feared there was something truly wrong with her. Normal people don't enjoy violence.

The sounds of a woman crying out to her right drew her attention. Saeko adjusted her path and hurried towards the alleyway where the sounds of a struggle grew more obvious. She set down her grocery bag and pulled her bokken out of her athletic bag and dropped that empty bag next to the groceries. She kept her school bag across her shoulders. The assailant might have an accomplice and she didn't feel like having her money stolen by someone while she was engaged in combat.

"It sounds to me like the lady isn't interested," Saeko called out. She stepped out of the shadows and she and the assailant could see each other clearly. A woman, maybe a couple of years older than Saeko was held against the brick facade of a building, her arms above her head in the man's firm grip, his knee shoved between her legs, and his other hand on her throat.

"Help me," the woman pleaded, her pale gray eyes wide in terror, tears slipping down her dirty cheek, the knee of her pantyhose was torn and blood stained her leg as well as the bottom hem of her skirt. She'd obviously struggled, but had been overpowered.

"Let her go now and maybe I won't beat you into oblivion," Saeko warned the man.

The attacker began to snicker. "You going to try to hit me with that little stick? I'll show you a stick," he said shoving the woman in his arms aside and throwing her into a nearby metal dumpster. She crumbled to the ground unconscious — hopefully.

Saeko snarled at the man for his brutality and ran towards him with her wooden sword at the ready prepared to show him what her brutality looked like. He tried to defend his face, but Saeko hit his wrists hard, snapping first the left then the right leaving his hands useless with the pain of the broken bones. "Wrist fractures are the worst," she said. "All those small bones, they're never quite right when they heal."

The man's nostrils flared with rage and his pupils dilated. His adrenaline must have kicked in and he might be able to ignore his pain temporarily. Saeko danced away from his attacking fists and hit him in the kidney and then the back of the knees sending him to the ground. She stood behind him, legs straddling his back as she held the bokken to the soft flesh of his throat and began to cut off his air supply. It was a trick her father taught her after her attack as an adolescent. It would render the assailant unconscious yet not kill him.

Eventually he sagged to the ground. Saeko stepped away from him to check the unconscious woman. She had a pulse. With her thumb she rolled back the woman's eyelid, one after the other. The pupils constricted as the light from the alleyway hit her. She would be fine. Saeko took a moment to let her muscles relax in relief, and then pulled her cell phone out of her school bag and dialed the police.

It wasn't long before a trio of police officers and a pair of ambulances showed up. The first one to arrive was a Detective Miyamoto. He'd scanned the alleyway briefly before coming to stand beside Saeko. "I'm Detective Miyamoto. I assume you are Saeko Busujima the one that made the call to the police. Are you okay?" he asked. He crouched beside the unconscious woman to check her pulse and then the man. His expression was blank and professional.

"Yes, Detective," Saeko answered. She worried about the fact that a detective was sent to answer her call and not a regular street officer. Did the police send a homicide detective after her? Did she kill the assailant? She shook her head of such thoughts, of course they wouldn't know if someone had died or not. She was the only one that had seen the attack. "Pardon my intrusion, but why are you here. You're a detective. I assure you no one is dead."

He smiled at her in a comforting way that reminded her of her father. "I was only a block away on my way home when the call went out on the radio."

Saeko breathed a sigh of relief.

"You want to tell me what happened?" he asked gently.

"I was walking toward the subway from the market after I bought some groceries when I heard the woman cry out. I had been attacked a few years ago so I'm sensitive to the sound of peril on the streets." She pointed to her bokken which she had propped up against the wall near the woman. "My father encouraged me to walk home with my kendo practice sword whenever he cannot pick me up from practice and I have to walk home — just in case."

"Wise man," Detective Miyamoto said with a nod. "Then what happened?" He'd taken out a notepad and was scribbling notes of her statement.

"He had her held against the wall," Saeko said pointing to the section of brick wall. "One hand held her wrists above her head and the other was at her throat. She was bleeding and covered in dirt — I assume from trying to escape him earlier." She took a deep breath. "She turned to me and called out for help. I warned him to release her or I would attack him. He threw her hard against the dumpster and she fell unconscious. He came after me and I hit his wrists with my bokken — I'm pretty sure they're broken. He continued to come after me and I hit him in the kidney and then managed to knock his legs out from under him. After that, I used a choke hold my father taught me to render him unconscious."

"I see," Detective Miyamoto said. Two ambulances had arrived and the EMTs were evaluating the victim and the assailant. Another pair of police officers arrived — these were the beat officers that dealt with street crime. "Excuse me for a moment," he said to her. He went to speak with the other two officers. They looked over his shoulder at her, one with wide eyes and the other with a scowl upon his face.

Saeko waited anxiously. Detective Miyamoto returned and his paternal smile was back on his face. "This appears to be a fairly straight forward case. I may have to call you later in case you have to make an official statement. Would that be all right? You can of course, bring your father with you. Have you called him to pick you up?"

"Unfortunately, my father is overseas at a martial arts tournament. That's the reason I am walking home this evening," Saeko explained.

"I see," Detective Miyamoto said. He thoughtfully rubbed his jaw, it was shadowed in a dark beard. "I wouldn't want my daughter wandering the streets after this happened. I believe my associates have the scene under control. Gather your things. I'll drive you home, Miss Busujima."

She bowed gratefully at him, picked up her bokken and placed it back in her athletic bag. When she went to pick up her grocery tote the detective had already picked it up and held it over his shoulder. She followed him to his unmarked car and placed her belongings in the back seat. He offered her the front passenger seat.

"I appreciate your kindness, Detective Miyamoto," Saeko said quietly.

"Your father and I were friends for a time," he answered glancing over at her. "You look just like your mother, except your eyes. You have your father's eyes."

It wasn't the first time Saeko had heard that description, but it was the first time she'd heard of a friendship between the detective and her father. It wasn't surprising. Her father had distanced himself from many of his friends after her mother's death. "Sir, your daughter wouldn't happen to be Rei Miyamoto would she?" She frowned when he eased into traffic. "Don't you need my address sir?"

"I remember where my old friend Master Busujima lives," Detective Miyamoto said. "Are you and Rei friends?"

"We don't know each other well." Saeko thought it best to not mention their conversation that morning or that she was interested in his daughter's ex-boyfriend. "I have seen her at martial arts practice. She's quite good with a spear."

"Indeed. Her mother taught her."

They continued the short drive in silence. Saeko stared out her window at the passing neighborhoods. Detective Miyamoto pulled up outside of the gates at the front driveway of her house. "Thank you for dropping me off, detective."

He placed the car into park, but kept the engine running. He opened the backseat door and allowed Saeko to gather her things. "It might be a good idea to have a friend pick you up from school. The streets have become quite dangerous." He held up his hand before she could protest. "It's not that you can't take care of yourself, but its best to avoid trouble. A young girl doesn't need to be making enemies on the streets."

Saeko stared down at her shoes feeling ashamed. "I understand." She didn't tell him that she didn't have anyone to pick her up.

"Good night, Miss Busujima," Detective Miyamoto said as she slipped through the front gates. He waited outside her driveway until she entered her house. She flipped on the living room lights and watched as his car drove off.

She placed her groceries on the counter and headed to the bathroom. What she needed was a nice hot shower and then she'd go about preparing a simple dinner, followed by tomorrow's lunches for herself and Takashi. The shower and the cooking would relax her. And then she'd work on her physics homework.

* * *

_A/N: Today was the last day of my stay at home vacation (stay-cation) so I thought I'd go ahead and post this to give y'all more of an idea of the story. I was really blown away by the interest in my first chapter with all the reviews and the follows. Let me know what you think! 3/24/14_

_Edited 3/28/14, Thank you Gentizm!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks for your reviews, follows, and favorites. Special props to Gentizm for beta-ing this chapter! He's super awesome!_

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Three:**

* * *

**Friday, Five Days before Z-Day**

World History class had never felt so long. The teacher, Mr. Senju, had been discussing the long standing consequences of World War II. When most of the students were near tears while looking at scenes of Hiroshima displayed on the projector screen Takashi was doodling in the corner of his notebook a sketch of a tree with a girl leaning against its thick trunk and who was staring off into the mountains.

"Mr. Komuro," Mr. Senju called out. Takashi stood from his desk and waited for the teacher to ask him a question. "What happened to the heart of the Japanese people after the attack on Hiroshima?"

In the desk in front of his desk, Saya turned in her seat to face him. Takashi's eyes met Saya's briefly. She arched her pink eyebrows in a challenging look. She may have thought she was the smartest kid at their school, but she wasn't the only one that did their studying.

"Sir, the Empire of Japan had no desire to continue their part in the war. Our people suffered devastating casualties, both immediate and long-term due to the burns and radiation poisoning. The heart of the Japanese people became stronger and they desired peace. The memorial outside of Hiroshima is a great example with all the displays of origami cranes. Also, it changed the attitude of the people to crave peace. That's when we started making the peace sign in our casual photographs."

Mr. Senju nodded at Takashi dismissing him and he immediately sat down. "While that is an insightful view of the social aspect of change I had intended to discuss the economic consequences it had on Japan. After the war our country became an economic powerhouse in the world."

Takashi met Saya's eyes once more and she nodded her approval before turning back in her seat and facing the front of the classroom. Settling in his seat, Takashi picked up his pen again and continued to shade the dark hair of the girl under the tree in his drawing.

After a near eternity, the bell finally signaled the end of class. Takashi had gathered his belongings and he was the first one out of the classroom. He faintly heard his friend Morita call out to him, but he continued briskly down the hall as if he hadn't heard him. Like the sketch in the corner of his notes from earlier, he saw Saeko sitting at the base of the very same tree in the center courtyard. She had one bento box in her lap and one resting on the ground beside her. Her posture was relaxed and her face expressionless as she stared out towards the fence bordering the school premises.

The lunch courtyard was as assortment of black, green, and white uniforms as it was crowded with students. The cafeteria line was long and winding, but Takashi's attention had focused on Saeko, and Saeko only. He walked past several groups of gossiping students as he made his way toward the large tree. "Good morning, Miss Busujima."

Saeko looked up and smiled softly, it lit up her entire face. She patted the spot next to her on the ground and beckoned Takashi to join her. The grass provided a nice thick cushion. "Good morning. I saved you a seat, Komuro."

Takashi sat down next to her, his shoulder briefly brushed against hers as he took the bento box. He opened the lid and held it under his nose. His eyes closed on instinct as he took a deep breath. "Amazing," he whispered reverently. Saeko handed him a pair of black wooden chopsticks. He poised the chopsticks over his meal and said, "Itadakimasu!"

Saeko watched him a moment with a faint smile at his compliment. Then she began to eat her own meal. "How have your classes been?"

Takashi shrugged. "They're all right. Rei ended up being one of my lab partners yesterday in Biology. It wasn't as bad as it could have been thanks to you," he said pointing his chopsticks in her direction.

Saeko batted his chopsticks away with her own with an amused light in her pale eyes. "I'm glad I was able to be of service."

With great effort Takashi set aside his bento box and fully turned his attention on Saeko. He wanted to know more about her and he couldn't really concentrate while eating. "Exactly what would have happened in the broom closet?" He was embarrased that he had to ask, but after both Rei and Kohta's reactions to the suggestion he was painfully curious.

Saeko stared down at her bento box, long violet hair shadowing her face, but not hiding the red on her cheeks. "I thought you used to have a girlfriend."

Takashi frowned, not sure what his past relationship had to do with a broom closet. "One, but I don't understand what that has to do with a broom closet."

"You don't know…" Saeko brushed her hair behind her ear and stared at him, her cool blue eyes searched his face. "It's where couples hide so that they can make-out."

"Oh!" Takashi's eyes grew wide and he stared down at his bento box willing away the heat that threatened to blossom across his cheeks. His embarrassment eased up as a new concern surfaced in his mind. Was Saeko familiar with the broom closet? He couldn't help but feel jealous.

"I've never used it before," Saeko added quickly, as if reading his mind. She focused on finishing her meal and then closed her box and set it aside. She pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs and stared across the school yard. "It just popped into my head as something that might shock your ex-girlfriend."

"It certainly did," Takashi assured her with a laugh. He glanced at Saeko from the corner of his eye. He wouldn't have minded spending some time with her in a broom closet. "So, what made you take up kendo?"

"My father is a kendo master. My parents met playing the sport." Saeko laid the side of her face against her knee and turned towards Takashi. "I grew up watching my father and hearing stories about my mother. She died when I was very young. I'm afraid I don't have any memories of her aside from what my father has told me. I wanted to learn the sport that was so important to them. Have you ever been to the national championships?"

Takashi shook his head. "No, but I heard you won." He wanted to comment on the loss of her mother, but he didn't know what to say.

"The tournament is held at the Nippon Budokan in the Chiyoda-ku prefect of Tokyo. There are hundreds of participants and everyone wears their gear. We all look alike in uniform. It's a dizzying experience," Saeko explained. "How about you? Do you like any sports?"

"Baseball," Takashi said. He used to play all the time when he was little. The kids in his neighborhood had a team. He'd been a great shortstop and his batting average had been impressive too. His father had been disappointed when he didn't try for the team in middle school.

"Are you on the team?" she asked with an interested look.

"No, I didn't want to commit to all the practice. Do you like baseball?" It involved hitting things with a stick. Surely, a kendo player would appreciate the art of smacking a ball with a bat.

"I've never really played baseball, but since I'm an only child father and I would toss the ball back and forth in the park," Saeko said with a fond smile on her lips.

"Maybe we can go to the park after school? We can toss the ball back and forth. I'm sure I can find a spare glove for you to borrow," Takashi said. He held his breath waiting for her response. He technically just asked her on a date.

"Normally, I practice kendo after school every day," Saeko said. "Though, it does sound fun. I haven't played catch in long time. I suspect I only played in the past because my father wished for a son and had to settle for me," she said with a chuckle.

Takashi picked up his bento box and finished his meal. "I doubt he can be anything, but satisfied with his daughter. No son could cook like this. What's your secret?" He leaned close as if eager for a great secret to be revealed. He closed his empty bento box and handed it to Saeko. His fingers brushed against hers for one tingle-inducing moment as she took it and placed it next to her box.

Saeko mimicked his position and glanced around, pale eyes scanning all around them as if looking for eavesdroppers. She dropped her voice to a whisper and said, "Fresh food. I visit the market twice a week."

"Maybe I can go with you one day." Unsure of what to do with his suddenly empty hands he wiped them across his uniform pants. "What days do you go on? It's only fair that I help you pick up groceries if I'm going to be eating your meals. I'd like to split the cost with you as well."

"That won't be necessary," Saeko said.

"What days?" Takashi pressed. He was being pushy, but he couldn't help himself. Maybe spending more time with her would distract him from not spending his time with certain other people. He could spend the lunch money his parents gave him towards her grocery bill.

"Mondays and Thursdays."

"Okay, so Monday I'll meet you after your kendo practice and we'll go to the market together."

"It would be nice to have company while my father is overseas," Saeko said biting her lip thoughtfully. "Okay. We'll go together, but I won't accept your money."

Takashi would try to convince her to accept his money later. He didn't want to take advantage of her generosity. Besides, Rei always complained what a cheapskate he was, he'd be sure not to repeat that mistake again. "And how about we go to the park after school today? We can wait until after you have finished your kendo practice."

Saeko bit down on her bottom lip with a thoughtful expression yet again. "There are no official practices on Friday afternoon. We can go to the park after school."

"Maybe we'll run into some of those Elvis impersonators," Takashi said. The last time he went to Yoyogi Park there had been tons of men cosplaying Elvis along the sidewalks - doing The Twist and the Hand Jive — it was an amusing experience. "What places do you like to visit? The aquarium?"

"I enjoy the Japanese Sword Museum Token Hakubutsukan and the Ninja Museum in Igaryu. My father took me to them both over the summer. I like the Golden Temple in Kyoto. The gardens outside and the koi ponds are very tranquil." Saeko placed their empty lunch boxes inside her school bag. "Aside from the park, what places do you like to visit?"

"This summer I spent a lot of time at the junk yard with my baseball bat taking out my frustrations on the innocent glass windows of junkers," Takashi confessed. His violent activities the past summer had been a secret, but for some reason he felt that Saeko wouldn't condemn his behavior. He'd wanted to tell someone, but he thought his other friends would have scolded his actions.

"Beating objects does help cope with stress," Saeko said with a sly smile. "Many practice dummies have felt the wrath of my bokken."

Takashi breathed a mental sigh of relief. She didn't think he was a foul tempered freak. That was good. "So, should I meet you at the kendo dojo after school, Miss Busujima?" The bell signaling the end of lunch rang and Takashi grimaced, feeling that his conversation with Saeko had been drawn to a conclusion too soon.

"Only if you'll call me by my first name," Saeko said.

"Then I will see you after school, Saeko." He stood and offered her his hand. She grasped his hand — her palm was cool and dry. "And you'll call me Takashi."

"Okay, Takashi."

He released her hand after holding it for a few seconds longer than necessary. "Can I walk you to class?"

"I have my foreign language class, English, on the east side of campus," Saeko said.

"Oh," Takashi breathed, crestfallen. "My class is on the west side."

"Do not worry, I'm sure I will make it to my next period without anyone trying to assault me," Saeko said. "I will see you after school then."

Takashi watched as Saeko turned the opposite direction and walked towards the east side of campus. She didn't sashay her hips, but she drew the eye when she walked. She had the stride of a sleek panther and even though she was wearing the same boring green skirted school uniform as all the other female students he couldn't help but stare.

He hurried to his locker to pick up his Biology materials. His locker was next to that of his friend Morita. "Hey, Morita, you still have your old baseball glove in your locker?"

"Now you want to talk to me?" Morita asked with an arched eyebrow. "You completely ignored me when I was calling out to you after history."

Takashi shook his head. "I didn't hear you. I was on a bit of a mission."

"What could be more important than listening to what your old friend, Morita had to say?"

"I had lunch with Saeko Busujima," Takashi answered dryly.

Morita dropped the book he'd just pulled out of his locker. "Saeko Busujima? She's in the top three of the Most-Beautiful-Girls-at-School list!"

Takashi caught the book before it could hit the floor and handed it back to his friend. "And I wanted to meet up with her after school to play catch in the park."

"I'd ask why you don't want to invite me along to the park, but I understand," Morita said. "How did the two of you become friends?"

Takashi shrugged. "We just started sharing lunch together."

Morita groaned. "I'm going to die of jealousy." He reached into the recesses of his locker and pulled out his baseball glove. He shoved it at Takashi. "At least promise me that you'll let Miss Busujima use my glove. I can at least have the blessing of her sweat mixing with mine inside of this leather glove."

Takashi took the glove, but he couldn't help but frown. "That's kind of gross, but sure."

* * *

**OoO**

The final class on Takashi's schedule was Art. Normally, he enjoyed it. He had a talent for charcoals and his teacher Ms. Kurenai had done nothing but praise him for the past week. The day's assignment was a charcoal sketch of the artist's choice. Takashi took his doodle from the margins of his history notes and created the image of a sad girl sitting under a tree staring out into the horizon. He wasn't sure if Saeko's quiet temperament equated sadness, but it translated well for his drawing.

"Very nice, Mr. Komuro," Ms. Kurenai said peering over his shoulder. "I especially like the shading you've done."

"Thank you." Takashi set aside his charcoal on the easel's tray, his fingers blackened by the residual dust.

"Is the subject fictitious or based on reality?"

"She's a friend of mine," Takashi answered.

"This friend of yours looks very sad." The teacher straightened, secured her dark hair it in a tight bun at the top of her head, and then moved on to the next student.

"I'm working on that." Takashi stared at his drawing with a critical eye. He made Saeko seem forlorn instead of contemplative. Maybe he'd draw a second sketch of her in a more happier setting. That could be his project for the coming weeks. He'd draw a series of the progression of friendship and emotions that follow it. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. He was starting to get carried away. He barely even knew Saeko Busujima!

The bell signaling the end of the school day went off. Takashi put away his supplies and hurried to his locker to collect his and Morita's baseball gloves along with his baseball. He had just enough room in his backpack left to stash his Geometry homework. He made his way towards the kendo club's dojo.

Saeko was waiting for him, sitting on the steps of the dojo with her school bag and her athletic bag next to her. She smiled when he drew near.

"Ready?" Takashi asked.

"Yes, are we taking the subway?"

"Yes, do you have a pass? I don't have my license yet," Takashi explained.

"It's not a problem. I usually take the buses and subway myself," Saeko said. She stood up, ran her hands over her skirt to smooth out wrinkles, and collected her bags. They walked side by side, keeping an easy matching stride on their way to the subway station. The subway was crowded with students all excited and ready for the weekend.

They weren't the only ones that visited the park that afternoon to enjoy the last few weeks of summer weather. Sadly, there were no Elvis impersonators that day. They found a decent section of open grass past the college students playing guitar who were sitting in a circle smoking and past the little kids playing tag. They put their bags at the base of a nearby tree, but were careful to keep an eye on it. There were police walking about the park, so it was fairly secure from thieves, but it still was smart to pay attention.

"Here," Takashi said handing Saeko Morita's glove. He'd have let Saeko use his glove, but his hand was bigger than hers. Morita's hand was smaller and his glove a more accurate fit. She slipped the glove onto her left hand and punched her right fist into the palm of the glove. "I'll toss it to you first." He stepped back several meters and then tossed the ball underhanded towards her.

Saeko caught it with ease. "Don't go easy on me, Komuro. We're playing catch. I expect some serious power behind your arm." She wound up her arm and threw a fast ball in his direction.

Takashi was barely able to jump to his right far enough to catch the ball with his glove. He hissed as the force of it stung his palm. "Maybe ease off a little, Busujima." He wound up himself and sent a curve ball toward Saeko. This was no longer a simple game of catch. It had metamorphosed into a competition.

Saeko backed up as he threw the ball far, she began to run backwards and jumped into the air to catch it. "Nice arm, Komuro!" She grinned at him and threw the ball back.

Takashi was running backwards and didn't see the pair of middle-schoolers playing frisbee behind him. He tangled up with one of the boys and they fell to the ground. The baseball sailed past him. "Excuse me," Takashi apologized as he scrambled to his feet and took off after the ball. It landed on the ground and rolled towards the running trails.

The ball came to a stop at the feet of a runner. The runner crouched down and picked up the ball. He glanced up and Takashi was greeted by the surprised gray eyes of his old friend Hisashi. He was wearing a track suit and a pair of neon running shoes. "Lose something, Takashi?"

"Yeah," he answered holding his hand out. Hisashi tossed the ball his direction and he caught it with ease. He glanced back over his shoulder. "You see how he threw it? Nice and easy? Let's try that next time," he shouted back at Saeko.

"If it will keep the children safe from you running them over, then I suppose," Saeko said with her hands on her hips and a teasing smile on her lips.

Hisashi looked past Takashi at Saeko. "Playing catch with the Captain of the Kendo Club?" He failed to mask the surprised expression on his face.

Takashi nodded. "We're just having a bit of fun. I take it you're enjoying a run around the trails?"

"I'm just doing a little cross-training." He nodded his head in Saeko's direction. "She's a nice girl. You two have a good time. I'll see you around," Hisashi said before continuing on his run.

Takashi jogged back towards Saeko. "Easy this time. I don't think my hand can take too many more of your fastballs."

Hours passed as they tossed the baseball back and forth. They hadn't engaged in any deep conversation, but they had fun. The sun had started to fade from the sky when they decided to call it quits. Takashi offered to escort Saeko home, she'd protested at first, but then agreed shortly after.

"You really should think about trying out for the baseball team," Saeko said. They were walking the last couple of blocks from the subway station to her home. She lived in a nice area of town. Large trees lined the streets and the houses were in good condition with fresh paint jobs and well cared for lawns. "This is me," she said as they stood outside of a large gate advertising for the Busujima Dojo. "My father's dojo is on the premise."

"I had fun today," Takashi said. "So Monday, we're going to the market, right?"

"If you insist," she said with a sigh. She adjusted the strap of her athletic bag over her shoulder.

Takashi glanced down at his watch. His mother would be worried. He didn't tell her that he had plans after school. "I have to go."

"Would you like to come —" Saeko started, but cut herself off at his comment. "Of course."

"What were you going to say?" Takashi asked. "Would I like to come —?"

Saeko smiled fleetingly and shook her head. "It's nothing important. I'll see you at lunch on Monday?"

"I'd have to be an idiot to turn you down," Takashi grinned. "Have a good weekend, Saeko." He stood at her gate a moment longer, unsure if he should hug her? Or perhaps kiss her? He reached out and grabbed her hand and shook it quickly before he turned on his heel and ran back toward the subway. The whole time he mentally berated himself. A handshake? What was he thinking?

Takashi's mother was sitting at the kitchen table with a stack of papers from her elementary students to grade when he walked inside his home. "Your dinner is warming in the oven," she said. "Care to tell me why you're so late?"

"Sorry, mom," he said leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "I went to the park with a friend to play baseball."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking of joining the team. I saw flyers around campus saying that try outs are at the end of next week." He slipped on a pair of oven mitts, opened the oven and took out his dinner. "Is dad home yet?"

"No, he's working late tonight. He should be home in an hour or two." His mother set aside her red grading pen. "You left your lunch on the counter yesterday and you left your lunch money today."

"You don't have to worry about that. My friend Saeko has been sharing lunch with me. She's an amazing cook, mom. I would like to give her my lunch money though I don't want to freeload off her."

His mother wore a sly smile. "A girl friend, hmm?"

"A friend that is a girl, yes. She makes the most amazing bento boxes. I offered to help her pick up groceries Monday. I'd like to use my lunch money to help cover some of the cost." He set his plate on the placemat across from his mother's position at the table. He looked at the papers she was grading. "Vocabulary test?"

"Be careful son, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach," his mother said with a teasing smile. "I can agree to you spending your lunch money to help this Saeko cover the cost of your meals. I'll expect you home late on Monday too then. And yes, I'm grading my student's first vocabulary test and they are doing surprisingly well for their first exam. I'm looking forward to this year's class." She propped her elbows on the table and leaned toward him eagerly. "Now, what's this about you joining the baseball team?"

Takashi shrugged as he speared his grilled eel with his chopstick. "I miss it. I need to be part of something at school again."

"I think that it's a great idea. I'm glad to see you are not moping about Rei. This Saeko sounds like a good influence." She smiled at him in that encouraging way of hers that made him feel like anything was possible.

Takashi agreed with his mother. Saeko Busujima was indeed a good influence. "Maybe I'll call Morita and see if he wants to hit the batting cages tomorrow."

"As longs as you finish your homework first you have my permission," his mother said. She picked up her red pen and continued to grade her students exams. "I'll talk to your father and see if he'll give you some spending money. If it's to practice for the team I'm sure he'd be happy to help."

His father would be pleased if he joined the baseball team. And while he didn't want to admit it, he hoped that Rei would see him from the stands. He wanted her to see him win the game and be the hero. He wanted her to regret not having given him a chance to prove himself. However, when he tried to picture himself catching the final hit and winning the game it was a girl with violet hair cheering for him in the stands that he found himself imagining.

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko entered her home, closed, and locked the front door. She leaned back against the closed door and shook her head in disgust. "I should have invited him for dinner." She'd intended to, but he interrupted her and she didn't want him to get in trouble with his parents.

She dropped her athletic bag and book bag on the floor. She'd work on her Physics homework later. She made her way toward her bedroom stripping out of her sweaty school uniform along the way, leaving a trail of her clothes in the hallway. Since she was home alone it felt almost sacrilegious not to take advantage of her privacy. She pulled out a martial arts workout uniform and dressed.

She made her way back to the front door and took her bokken out of her bag. Then she headed to the private dojo. She still needed to complete her workout and still had quite a few repetitions to complete. Just because she went to the park with the guy she had a crush on since the end of the previous school year it didn't mean that she could skip out on her exercises.

If she wanted to stay the best she needed to stay in peak condition. She wanted to be in top form for when her father returned and wanted to spar. She wanted to be flawless. She wanted to hear the precious words she craved for. She wanted him to tell her, 'Well done, daughter. I'm proud.'

Her thoughts drifted to Takashi wearing one of the school's form-fitting baseball uniforms. She really hoped he listened to her. He'd make a great addition to the team. She might even bother attending games if he were playing. The uniforms could be quite flattering to certain players. She smiled to herself. Takashi would look very nice in such a uniform.


	4. Chapter 4

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Four:**

* * *

**Saturday, Four Days Before Z-Day**

An incessant buzzing sound brought Saeko out of a pleasant dream. With a violent slam of her hand she turned off her alarm clock and glared at the bright blue digital numbers. It was nine o'clock on Saturday morning. If she hadn't turned on her alarm she'd have still been dreaming about winning the Kendo National Championship, but this time Takashi and her father had been present. Her father had handed her the giant trophy as Takashi stood at her side. He wrapped her into a hug, and twirled her around in a circle in front of the entire audience.

It had been an amazing dream, but far from reality. When she won the championship Takashi didn't even know her name and her father had been overseas. Saeko rubbed her finger across her bottom lip to wipe away a smidgeon of drool. "Good thing no one was here to notice," she mumbled.

She pushed back her covers and grabbed her tablet. She propped it on her knees as she leaned against the headboard of her bed. She brushed her hair out to make herself more presentable. She had awoken early on a Saturday for a reason.

She opened her Skype application and awaited her anticipated phone call. Just as promised the call went through at three minutes after nine. A familiar face filled the screen on tablet A middle-aged man with dark hair, a muscular build, and light blue eyes identical to her own smiled at her. Daichi Busujima. "Hello, daughter. Did I wake you?"

"Yes, father." Saeko covered her mouth to stifle her yawn. "I woke up early on a Saturday just for you."

"Early? Why it's eight in the evening!"

"And you're thirteen hours behind me," Saeko pointed out. "Are you having a good time in New York City?"

Her father groaned. "Too many people. And there's all these musicals — you know how I feel about musicals."

Saeko grinned. Her father hated musicals. It didn't help that he couldn't hold a tune himself. "Is the self-defense conference going well?" He frequently competed in international kendo tournaments, but occasionally he liked to help promote self-defense in general.

"It's boring. My neighbors, the Hiranos, in the hotel are interesting though. He and his wife are obsessed with guns. He seems to think everything can be solved with them. I pointed out that if I were to break your hand or slice your tendons with a knife then you cannot use a gun. He then proceeded to pull a gun on me and I disarmed him," Daichi said with a shrug. "That was the most interesting part of the conference. However, you didn't wake up early on a Saturday to ask me how I'm doing," he chided running his fingers through his short dark hair. "Tell me, what is my best girl up to? How are your new classes going? Have you made any new friends?"

Saeko wanted to appear stoic before her father, but could feel her cheeks growing warm. Her father must have noticed because his eyes sharpened and he grinned at her like a mischievous fox. "I have made a new friend. He's really kind and considerate."

Daichi whistled and leaned forward eagerly. "A boy, yeah? Is he in the kendo club with you?"

Saeko shook her head. "No, we met briefly last year. We do go to school together. He looks me in the eye."

Her father nodded. "That's important."

"I've been sharing lunch with him and yesterday we played catch in Yoyogi Park," Saeko blurted out. She didn't have many friends and it had been eating her up inside to not have anyone to share her exciting new developments with Takashi. She could have told some of the girls in her kendo club, but they were too gossipy and she didn't want to deal with the drama if Takashi lost interest in her.

"You two played catch together? And if you've been cooking for him I'm sure he's madly in love with you by now. What's his name?"

"Takashi Komuro," Saeko said. "I'm trying to convince him to try out for the baseball team next week."

"It sounds like he's made you happy. Do I need to buy you one of those stadium chairs? That way you can sit in the bleachers for long periods while watching baseball games?" Her father teased. "Or perhaps you'll try for the cheerleading squad. You're athletic enough."

Saeko shifted uneasily. Maybe she shouldn't have shared so much with her father. "That won't be necessary," she said biting her lower lip. "The kendo club keeps me busy enough."

"You know what to do if this Takashi gets out of hand," he father reminded her. "If you have some time today I'd appreciate it if you could sharpen your mother's katana in my room. Don't forget your repetitions either."

"Yes, of course, father," Saeko agreed. Her father had brought his katana with him. He generally complained that the hours that his sword was in the cargo hold of a plane were the most stressful of his life. He never left home without it though. He liked to be prepared. "Were your Hirano neighbors impressed when you showed them your katana?"

Daichi shrugged a shoulder. "He claimed I was a few centuries behind in my weapon of choice, but that he didn't want to piss me off."

"I'll bet," Saeko said grinning.

"Saeko, it's Saturday. Why don't you sleep a few more hours and then go about being productive. Even the esteemed daughter of Master Daichi Busujima needs to relax," her father said with a slight smile that caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle. He touched the screen with his fingertips and instinctively Saeko mirrored the action. "I love you, daughter. I'll see you next weekend."

"I love you too, father," Saeko said with a soft smile. Her father was her rock and she did miss him terribly when he was gone. He probably had no idea how much his weekly phone calls meant to her when he was out of town.

"Oh, and Saeko, why don't I acquire us some tickets for the Yomiuri Giants on Saturday?" Daichi grinned broadly. "Since you and your 'friend' are such big baseball fans, why don't you invite him along?" He had used air quotes on the word "friend."

"That would be great," Saeko agreed. "Good bye, father." She signed off and then powered down her tablet. She plopped back against her pillows. Maybe a few more hours of sleep wasn't such a bad idea. She couldn't wait to tell Takashi about the opportunity to join her and her father at a professional baseball game next weekend!

* * *

**OoO**

The indoor batting cages were a few kilometers south of Takashi's home. Morita had met him there on an invitation to hang out and hit some baseballs. The sports center was packed with adolescents and he and Morita were amongst the few teenagers. Most of the other teens Takashi recognized were on the school's baseball team the previous year.

"So, why the sudden motivation, Komuro? First you're playing catch and now you're spending time at the batting cages," Morita said. He swung and missed the ball flying at him. He shut off the device that sent the baseballs at him and adjusted his protective helmet. "I can't see a blasted thing with this stupid helmet."

Takashi focused on his stance, keeping his legs apart and balancing just right. He gripped his bat and when the fast ball came towards him, he hit it hard and the ball cracked across his metal baseball bat and went soaring into the distance. "I like baseball." He wasn't sure that he wanted to tell his friend about trying out for the team just yet. He adjusted the settings on the pitch of the baseballs to slow the frequency. "And you better leave that helmet on or else you'll get hit in the head, especially with your terrible batting average."

"Not that I don't mind hanging out with you, but why didn't you invite your new lady friend Saeko?" Morita asked teasingly. "How was your date to the park? I think I have a right to know since it couldn't have happened without my baseball glove."

Takashi hit the back of his helmet against the wall behind him. "I didn't even think about asking her." He straightened and turned to his friend. "Do you think she would have come if I asked her? Maybe that would have been too pushy."

"She played catch with you in the park, of course she would have come," Morita said shaking his head. "One of the three most beautiful women at our school is cooking for you on a regular basis and you think it would have been pushy to ask her out to have fun?"

"You're right," Takashi said. He straightened in time to prepare for another ball rushing at him and cracked his bat against it.

"What about Takagi? You know I've had a crush on her since I first saw her. Do you think she'd go out with me if I asked her?" Morita asked.

Takashi focused his attention straight ahead. He didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings, but Saya wasn't interested. After Morita had agreed to meet him at the batting cages he'd called Saya to ask if she'd like to come. She had agreed at first, but when he added that Morita would also be there she quickly changed her mind. She claimed that she had family obligations. He swung at the approaching baseball and hit a foul ball. "I don't really know if you and Saya are right for each other," Takashi said cautiously.

"You asked Saya to join us, didn't you?" Morita asked quietly.

Takashi nodded, but didn't say anything.

Morita shrugged. "I didn't really think she'd give me a chance. She's so smart and pretty. Why would she be interested in a regular guy like me?"

It was becoming decidedly uncomfortable. Ever since his breakup, Takashi had spent more time with his guy friends Morita and Imamura. He didn't want his interest in a new girl to create tension. "I'm thinking of joining the baseball team."

"Really?" Morita asked in interest, his dark eyebrows rising high on his forehead. "Did Miss Busujima inspire you?"

"You want to try out with me?" Takashi asked. He swung his bat once more and hit another long distance return.

Morita chuckled. "Maybe ask Imamura. I'm obviously terrible at baseball." He stepped out of his batting cage and stood behind the door to Takashi's area. He took off his protective helmet and shook out his dark hair. "Maybe I should join a team though. How about archery? Chicks dig archers right?"

Takashi grinned. "I'm sure they do."

"Why don't you call Saeko. See if she wants to join in on this action?" Morita asked gesturing between his bat and the field.

"I would, but I don't have her phone number." Takashi hit another foul ball. "I was too nervous to remember to ask for it."

"Call Hisashi. He certainly owes you. He should have her number," Morita suggested.

Takashi's fingers grew white at the intensity of his tightened grip on the baseball bat. "Why would he have Saeko's number?" He asked quietly. He didn't like the idea of Hisashi, the friend that stole his ex-girlfriend, having Saeko's number.

"They're both martial arts captains. It's a reasonable assumption," Morita said. "You okay? You look like you're about to smash that bat against someone's head." He cautiously put his protective helmet back on his head.

The baseball came towards Takashi and he hit it with all his pent up frustration and worries. The ball exploded. Takashi stared down at the leathery remains in shock. He flipped off the machine pitching the baseballs and stepped out of the batting cage. "I'll give him a call."

* * *

**OoO**

It was a hot and muggy day, not the best setting for an outdoor date to the zoo, but such things were more about the company than the setting. Hisashi felt the weight of the jewelry box in his pants pocket pressing against his thigh as a constant reminder. He held Rei's hand, their fingers entwined, as they made their way through the bamboo forest that helped negate all the concrete of the zoo. They were on their way to check out the big cat section.

Rei slipped away from him to take pictures with her cell phone of the black panther prowling near the protective glass barrier. "Such a cute kitty," Rei purred rubbing her fingers on the glass near the animal.

"So, yesterday while I was running laps I came across Takashi at Yoyogi Park," Hisashi mentioned. "He was playing a game of catch."

"Oh?" Rei asked absently. She returned to his side and he slung his arm casually across her shoulders. "That's nice."

"I was a little surprised to see him on a date with Captain Busujima," Hisashi admitted sheepishly. Rei missed a step and Hisashi was quickly able to help her balance and keep her from stumbling. "I'm glad he seems to have found someone. We don't have to feel awkward around him now."

"Right," Rei said, her brows drawn together in thought. "Takashi and Saeko."

"Yeah, it seemed that they were having a good time together," Hisashi added. He didn't like the expression on Rei's face. She couldn't be jealous that Takashi might have moved on. It was only natural. She had moved on, surely she realized that Takashi would move on as well one day. Which was excellent news in his opinion. He had looked forward to the day when he didn't have to worry about Takashi stealing back Rei. "By the way, I have something for you." He reached in his pocket and pulled out the small white box.

Rei glanced from the box to him curiously. "What is it?"

"Open it and see," he suggested patiently holding it out to her.

Rei took the box and opened it. Within its velvety cushion was a pair of emerald post earrings. Her eyes grew wide in appreciation. "Are these real? However did you afford these?"

"Happy four month-iversary," Hisashi said pulling her closer to him and kissing the crown of her golden hair. "Of course they're real. I wouldn't give you anything less than the best, Rei." He didn't want to tell her that he'd been working extra hours at his father's auto mechanic shop. Rei was a classy girl that wanted to be taken care of and he wanted to make sure that he had the money to take her out on dates — his weekly allowance alone wasn't going to cut it. It was bad enough that he was younger than her, but with his father's connections he'd been able to attain a hardship drivers license at the age of sixteen. He liked being able to drive Rei around when they went on dates. There were perks to his father being a reputable mechanic. There was always some project car he was working on that he'd loan out to Hisashi.

Rei danced out of Hisashi's hold and stood in front of him, toe to toe, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She brought his face to hers and kissed him fiercely. His arms wound around her waist on instinct. "Thank you," she said smiling when she pulled back from kissing him.

"Worth every yen," Hisashi said. Rei took her earrings out of the box and slipped them on her earlobes. "They look good on you," he said when Rei turned her head side to side to model the sparking emeralds.

"You know month-iversary isn't a word," Rei pointed out poking him gently on the chest.

Hisashi shrugged. "We still have eight more months before I can say anniversary. And quarterly -versary just sounded bad." Rei laughed, the sound akin to bells chiming in the wind to his ears. Hisashi saw a shock of pink from the corner of his eye and turned in that direction. "Isn't that Saya Takagi?"

Rei followed his gaze. "And a handful of body guards," she confirmed. "I wonder what she's doing here." Rei waved her hand in the air. "Saya!"

Saya turned to face them, a scowl present on her face. Her scowl deepened when she recognized Rei and Hisashi. Even if Takashi might move on from his breakup with Rei, Hisashi didn't think that Saya would ever forgive either of them for the perceived betrayal on her oldest friend.

They made their way towards the Takagi heiress. "What are you doing here?" Rei asked.

"My parents made a sizable donation to the zoo and they made me come to oversee it," Saya growled. Her sharp amber eyes focused on the emerald studs on Rei's ears. "Nice quality emeralds," she commented. She glanced behind her at the four men standing stiffly in their dark suits. "Let's go."

"Yes, Lady Takagi," one of the men said, touching his earbud. "Package has been delivered. We're escorting the mistress back now."

Hisashi felt a buzz in his jeans back pocket. "Excuse me," he said pulling out his cell phone and checking the display. "It's Takashi," he murmured. Both Saya and Rei turned to him with openly curious expressions. Hisashi turned his back on them both and answered the call. "Hey, what's up?"

"Good afternoon, Hisashi," Takashi greeted over the phone. "You wouldn't happen to have Saeko Busujima's phone number do you? I figured that since you're both captains of your clubs that you might have exchanged numbers."

Hisashi's lips curled up in amusement. His friend must have really had it bad for the girl. "You don't have it?" He asked in surprise. Lucky for Takashi — Hisashi did have Saeko's number. As captains that shared part of the same facilities they often had to coordinate their scheduled practice times.

"Do you think I would be calling if I did?" Takashi asked, no trace of humor in his voice.

"Don't worry. I'll text it to you. So, um, are we cool?" Hisashi asked. He loved Rei, but he still felt knots of guilt in his stomach for more or less stealing his best friend's girl.

The line was silent for several moments until he heard Takashi take a deep breath. "Can you just give me Busujima's number?"

"No problem. Good luck," Hisashi said before hanging up.

"What did Takashi want?" Saya demanded.

"Someone's phone number," Hisashi answered absently. He scrolled through his contacts, came across Saeko's information, copied it, and then texted it back to Takashi.

* * *

**OoO**

It was early afternoon by the time Takashi received the text from Hisashi with Saeko's contact information. Morita gave him a thumbs up. Takashi fathered his courage and dialed Saeko's phone number. He had hoped to be greeted with the sound of her surprised voice. Instead, he received an automated error message advising him to try again later as his party could not be reached.

"Why didn't you leave a message?" Morita asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what I would say in a message," Takashi said running his hand through his hair. It was sweaty and plastered to his head from the baseball helmet he wore earlier.

"Are you just going to wait until Monday then?" Morita asked. "A girl as gorgeous and talented as that doesn't stay single for long. You've got competition waiting around the corners and in nearly every shadow for a girl like that."

"I know," Takashi said frustrated. His own friend Hisashi had been waiting in the corners to snatch up his last girlfriend. He had a terrible vision of Imamura swooping in to Saeko's life and winning her affections. "I'll go to her house."

"Don't you think that's a little creepy? I think you should try calling her again. Maybe leave a message this time," Morita suggested.

"I had fun, Morita. Good luck with the archery team!" Takashi took off running and headed for the subway station. He had a pretty good idea on how to find his way back to Saeko's neighborhood. Hopefully, her father hadn't returned and wouldn't be standing at the door with his katana at the ready.

Takashi held the ceiling bar of the train tightly as the brick walls of the subway passed by. In twenty minutes he'd be at the Busujima residence. People were keeping a wide berth of him on the train and he had to wonder if it was because he was sweaty or if he had a wild, panicked look in his eyes. He wasn't sure and he really didn't care. He glanced down at his phone to see if she happened to call him back, curious about her missed call from a strange number. However, his display screen was blank.

He used his metro pass to take a bus closer to Saeko's neighborhood. He used the free wifi on the bus to check the internet and see what the hours of operation were for the ninja museum that Saeko mentioned before. It wasn't long before he found himself waiting outside her gate. He stood there for several minutes staring at the gate trying to decide if he should knock, call out, leave a note. Maybe he should try calling her again.

"Takashi?" Saeko called out. He looked through the space between the metal rods of the gate and saw her. She was wearing a traditional martial arts training gi and held a wooden broom in her hand. She had been sweeping the stone pathway that led to the house. "What are you doing here?"

"Saeko," Takashi said letting out a relieved breath. He held up his phone. "You didn't answer when I called."

"I don't generally keep my phone on me. It's in the kitchen," Saeko said. She walked closer and unlocked the gate to allow him entrance.

He appreciated the fact that she didn't question him about how he had acquired her phone number. He didn't want her to think he was a stalker, but surely she must be curious. "I got your number from Hisashi."

Saeko angled her head, her pale eyes amused. "That was resourceful," she said shutting the gate behind him.

Her easy acceptance relieved the nervous pressure that had built up in his chest.

"I had a good time at the park yesterday," Saeko said. "I assume seeing you here that you avoided trouble with your parents?"

Takashi nodded and began to shuffle his feet nervously. "No trouble, but I wanted to ask you something. I mean, I know that I'll see you Monday at lunch and then after school to do the grocery shopping, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to do something else."

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"Something this weekend with me," he clarified.

"I figured that," Saeko said, her amused smile back in place. "Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"That would be great!" Takashi said. He leaned against the gate behind him. "Also, maybe we could go to the Ninja Museum in Igaryu tomorrow. I know it's Sunday, but it's open. I checked on my way over."

"I would like that," Saeko said.

Takashi's cell phone began to buzz and he checked the display. It was his father. "Excuse me. It's my dad." He accepted the call. "Hello dad." He cringed slightly at his father's angry tone demanding where he was and that he should have been home an hour ago. "I'm visiting a friend," Takashi answered. He mouthed the words, 'He's pissed,' at Saeko. She nodded in understanding.

Takashi listened to his father a few more moments before he hung up. "I have to go. I'm sorry. Believe me, I'd much rather join you for dinner than be lectured at by my father with whatever fault he's decided to bring to my attention."

"That's okay, I understand," Saeko said quietly, not quite hiding her disappointment. "So tomorrow we'll be going to the Ninja Museum in Igaryu?"

"I'll make sure I have permission and I'll call you later tonight to confirm," Takashi promised.

"Then I'll make sure to answer," Saeko said, her pale eyes seemed to sparkle in anticipation. "There is just one thing before you go, Takashi."

"Yeah?" Takashi asked. He had started to open the gate to let himself out.

Saeko dropped her broom and it clattered on the stone walkway. She then gripped Takashi by his t-shirt and pulled him close. "I hope you don't mind," she murmured before she craned her neck so that she met his lips softly with her own.

Takashi's eyes immediately slid closed and his hands found themselves against her shoulder blades pressing her closer to him. Saeko drew back and he began to lose himself in the depths of her icy blue eyes. "I definitely made a mistake with that handshake yesterday."

Saeko chuckled softly, her throaty voice sent shivers down Takashi's spine.

"I'll be here early tomorrow morning, then we'll see the museum, and then I'm definitely staying for dinner," Takashi said determinedly.

* * *

_A/N: I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story! I've been having a good time writing it. My Beta has really been motivating and knows his HOTD facts much better than I do (as I've only watched the 12 episode anime). So big thanks to **Gentizm**. In cannon storyline, Kohta's parents are in Europe and aside from being overseas I don't know the location of Master Busujima's conference( nor do I know his first name...but I like Daichi - it means great wisdom!). I've been to NYC, I'm familiar with it, and it helps with the big picture to have some of the parents know each other and be together when Z-day hits. So please don't flame my lack of knowledge, it's a fanfiction and I'm altering many things, but trying to stay true to the characters. And I'm basically making up Takashi and Hisashi's fathers. I don't know a thing about them. Thanks for your support! _

_4/13/14_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thanks so much for your support and reviews! Gentizm is once again uber patient and brilliant in his job as beta-ing for me. _

* * *

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Five:**

* * *

**Sunday, Three Days Before Z-Day**

In a top secret lab, hidden deep within the subterranean levels of a government research facility, the biological warfare department had reached a critical point in a big project. It would aid in the war against terror. The scientists involved were full of excitement, fear, and wariness.

A man in his late fifties, wearing a dark suit, slicked back dark hair, and a total lack of expression on his face hovered near the head scientist. He went by the name Mr. Smith — however, no one was fooled into thinking that was anything but an alias. "Is it stable, Doctor?"

Doctor Philson held a rack of specimen tubes in frail, aged hands that shook with exhaustion. He placed the rack on the lab table, removed his nitrile gloves, and then adjusted his safety goggles. "We've been working nearly twenty-four hours, seven days-a-week for the past two weeks to make the final push. It's nearly ready, sir."

"We have a time table to keep," Mr. Smith said. He checked the black military watch strapped across his wrist. "I have a meeting with the man in charge in an hour and I better have a satisfactory progress report for him."

"Sir!" A frazzled young blonde woman cried out, running over towards them. She twisted her hands together anxiously. There was fresh blood splattered across her white lab coat. "Sir, the monkeys are showing adverse reactions."

Doctor Philson sighed tiredly before he sent Mr. Smith an apologetic look. "It's a biological weapon, Ms. Smoak. Of course the monkeys would be exhibiting odd behavior," he said patiently to his assistant.

"But sir, even after I administered the antidote, they continue to act strange," Ms. Smoak said. "At first they were exhibiting the behavior we expected, sedated and easily susceptible to commands, but something has changed."

"Felicity, this isn't the time," Doctor Philson hissed.

Mr. Smith touched Doctor Philson on the shoulder. "By all means, Doctor, let Ms. Smoak continue. Ma'am, what exactly would you say is happening?"

"The temperature on some of the vials dropped below the studied level. Instead of the recommended room temperature of twenty degrees celsius, or sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, they were left under a heat lamp for a few hours. I believe the biochemical components broke down. It's a completely different material with completely different properties," Felicity explained. "They reacted poorly to the injections."

"Show me," Mr. Smith ordered.

"Mr. Smith, we're working on an aerosol mechanism of distribution. The concentrated injection will be quite different than the levels we intend to us," Doctor Philson argued.

"Pharmaceuticals are studied at higher levels. What we're working on here is more important than a cholesterol medication, wouldn't you agree?" Mr. Smith asked.

"Yes, sir," Doctor Philson agreed.

"Then I would like to know why your lab assistant's coat is splattered with flesh blood. Aren't you curious?" Mr. Smith asked.

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi had expected a lecture when he returned home the night before, but instead it turned out his father was excited by his decision to try out for the baseball team. His dad had wanted to play catch in the backyard and discuss various players on the Yomiuri Giants team. As a present to encourage him, his father had bought him a Giants baseball jersey. Later that night he'd called Saeko for a brief conversation to confirm their date. He'd pick her up at her home at seven in the morning.

He wasn't exactly sure what he should wear on their date, Rei often complained that he put forth very little effort whenever they did anything. He and Saeko should have discussed how they intended to dress when he called her the night before. He decided to wear his new Yomiuri Giants baseball jersey, a pair of jeans, and combat boots. It was better than a t-shirt.

When Takashi reached the Busujima residence, Saeko was already waiting outside of the gate. She looked gorgeous wearing an off- white summer dress with dark purple plum trees embroidered on the skirt, a pair of strappy silver sandals, and her violet hair pulled up in a casual high ponytail. He practically swallowed his own tongue looking at her and wished he had dressed a little nicer.

"Nice jersey," Saeko said with a grin.

Takashi tugged at the hem of his new jersey "Yeah. It's my dad's gift. He's excited that I decided to try out for the team next week."

Saeko's grin broadened. "I take it that you're a fan of the Giants?"

"My dad and I used to watch their games all the time when I was a kid," Takashi said. He remembered fond memories of hot dogs and peanuts while enjoying baseball games on summer weekends.

"That's good to know. My father wanted to know if you'd like to attend a game with us next Saturday," Saeko said.

Takashi felt his breath hitch in his chest. Was this girl perfect or what? "Of course I'd love to watch a Giants game!" He glanced down at the black military watch he had strapped to his wrist. "We better hurry. It will take about two hours to reach Igaryu by train from the Tokyo station."

They made good time reaching the train station and it was long before they boarded. The entire time Takashi toyed with the idea of whether or not he should try and hold Saeko's hand. Would that be too needy? She seemed perfectly content not holding his hand, so he decided against the act. Public transportation on Sundays was decidedly less crowded. Saeko's strappy sandals must have been more comfortable than they looked because she kept pace with him easy enough.

They sat next to each other near the back of the train. Saeko took the aisle and Takashi the window seat. Saeko had insisted that he would appreciate the view of the landscape more than she would have as he'd not made the trip to the museum before. "One day I'll have a motorcycle and I won't need to use all these trains and buses," Takashi said. He leaned his elbow on the edge of his window and stared at the mountains and trees that flashed by his eyes.

"A motorcycle is practical," Saeko agreed. "It's better on gas and easier to find parking."

Takashi turned to ask Saeko what she intended to learn to drive, but her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. He turned back to the window and stared absently at the passing trees. He felt a soft weight against his shoulder and glanced to see that Saeko's head now rested against his shoulder. He shifted so that he'd be more comfortable for her.

"Are you comfortable like that?" Takashi asked.

Saeko opened one eye. "Not really," she confessed. "I stayed up late finishing my physics homework and then practicing my stances so I'm still a bit sore and tired."

Now Takashi felt like a jerk. She had homework and she stayed up late finishing it so that she'd be free to join him on this date. "Why don't we trade places and you can sleep with your head on my lap?" Takashi suggested. "That way you can curl up in the seat without people being able to see up your skirt." He pushed up the armrest between their two seats.

"You don't mind?" Saeko asked reaching up and stifling a yawn with a hand over her mouth.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I did," Takashi pointed out with a little smile. He stood and Saeko shifted to his abandoned seat as he claimed her old seat. When he sat back down Saeko had taken her hair down from her ponytail, curled up into a ball, and laid her head on his thigh. He rested his hand on the back of her head and stroked the length of her hair. The dress left her arms bare and he appreciated the combination of toned muscles with soft skin.

He would have gone to sleep too, but his heart was racing and he worried that they might miss their stop if they were both asleep. The hours passed and they reached the train station where they changed to one of the local buses to reach the museum. Saeko's eyes were sharp and Takashi was glad she'd been able to rest peacefully even if it were just for a few hours. This time, he did take her hand to guide her up the stairs onto the bus. Her grip was firm and strong.

It felt like they were venturing deeper and deeper into the wild. There were fewer buildings and eventually nothing but forest before them when the bus came to a stop. They'd have to walk the rest of the way. When they reached the Ninja Museum it wasn't too crowded. There were a handful of American and Canadian tourists, but Takashi and Saeko were the only locals. As everyone spoke English it was decided that the museum tour would be given in that language. They explored a building with all the hidey-holes of the ninjas pointed out to them. It was fascinating and creatively intuitive.

The main tour guide was an older man with glasses as thick as bottle caps and a stooped posture. He used a walking staff about the same height as himself as he walked through the property. "During the feudal area of Japan's history the Ninja were agents of espionage and stealth hired by the warring factions to gain intelligence about their enemies. Ninjas were also used to assassinate rivals," the tour guide lectured.

"The Ninja used Ninjutsu. This martial art didn't focus on physical force, but on stealth and intellectual solutions to combat. Ninjutsu found ways to manipulate their enemy's perceptions. Most ninjas masqueraded as farmers during the day in the fields in their robes and used their tools to work the land. Their robes often hid their training vests made of chain mail and their tools were often used as weapons," the guide said. His posture straightened, he shucked off his robe, and revealed a chain mail vest across his torso. He began to twirl his walking staff around in a dangerous, powerful arc. "A ninja deceives those around him," he said winking behind his thick lenses.

"There were various schools of Ninjutsu developed throughout our history, but only two were the leading in their field: Iga-ryu and Koga-ryu. The Koga style was developed in the Koga region of the Shiga prefecture, while the Iga style was developed right here in Iga City, Mie prefecture," the guide continued.

"Come with me," Saeko whispered in Takashi's ear. "I've heard this story enough times I can tell you the rest," she promised.

Takashi weighed his options. Listen with the foreign tourists to the old man that wasn't quite so old or take the private tour with the pretty girl? Decisions, decisions. "All right," he agreed with a smirk.

Saeko grabbed Takashi's hand and led him toward a building near the back of the property. "This is the part of the museum with all the weapons, and a lot of the story the guild is telling is written on the plaques in here," she explained. She dropped Takashi's hand and pushed the door open with a grin and a mischievous twinkle in her icy eyes.

He was disappointed that she wasn't holding his hand anymore, but there was something inciting about that grin of hers that urged him to follow her inside the building. Saeko went to the far corner of the room and picked up a dark gray object and carried it to him.

"It's a ninja training vest," Saeko explained holding it out to him. "You should try it on. This is what the guild was wearing under his robes."

Takakshi took the vest and bowed over at the unexpected weight. He slipped his arms through it and felt his muscles already straining at the added mass. "This stuff weighs a ton," he complained.

"Forty pounds," Saeko corrected him. "My father has one of these. He used to have me wear it when practicing my swordsmanship. Later when I practiced without the vest I felt like I was practically floating because I was so light."

Takashi tried some stretches while wearing the vest. He touched his toes, but his shoulders ached from the added weight. "It must have been torture to farm while wearing these."

"It would be worth such torture to increase one's strength," Saeko said. "Check this out," she said leading the way towards a large map of the Eastern World. It showed the history of Ninjutsu's origins.

The plaque read: The history of Ninjutsu can be traced back to before 500AD, to the ancient times of the Indian subcontinent. The culture of Ninjutsu was said to have existed as far back as 4000 BC, where ancient Indian culture exported its brand of spirituality into continental China. From here it was introduced into Japan through the Korean peninsula around the time of the 6th century, where it was refined and developed into the military discipline that is known today.

"Does that mean ninjas started out in India?" Takashi asked.

Saeko shrugged. "That's what the plaque says." She started to a middle wall divider that had hundreds of throwing stars on display. "My father has a slightly smaller collection."

"Your dad sounds kind of scary, Saeko," Takashi teased.

"Dad's a sweet man, unless you're a Seibu Lions fan. Then he'd probably be the last person you ever see," Saeko said with a wink. "Oh!" She hurried toward the wall catty-corner to the center wall with the ninja stars. There was a giant sickle on display. "This was used to cut tall grains or the heads of enemies. Definitely one of the dual purpose farming tools."

Takashi rubbed his neck gingerly. He was glad he didn't live in the feudal era. He took off the weighted training vest and joined Saeko by the sickle. "I thought they would have used swords or something."

"The samurai used swords. The ninjas were to be unseen. You notice a samurai walking around with a pair of swords strapped to his waist. No one looks at a field hand twice," Saeko said.

The door to the weapons' museum opened and the other tourists began to pour inside. "It's getting a little cramped. You want to grab a bite to eat in the little cafe?" Takashi asked.

"Sure," Saeko agreed.

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko thought that lunch at the cafe had been pleasant. It was nice to enjoy a meal with Takashi without worrying if he'd appreciate the food she'd made or not. The museum had been a fascinating experience that she had yet to grow tired of exploring. Her imagination would go wild thinking about life during the feudal era. In an environment where violence and civil war was rampant her temperament would have been the norm. Instead, she struggled to contain her enthusiasm for fighting. She knew the different ways to attack someone to knock them unconscious, cripple them, or even kill them.

It scared her sometimes, but as she sat next to Takashi on the train ride back to Tokyo station she couldn't be bothered by such negative thoughts.

"What was your favorite part about the museum?" Takashi asked. He glanced up from the museum pamphlet he'd been reading. "I was impressed by the farming tools that doubled as ninja weapons."

"My favorite part was the company," Saeko said with a shy smile.

Takashi's cheeks reddened and he smiled back at her. "Are we still on for dinner?"

Saeko nodded. "I just need to reheat it in the oven. I made it last night in case we ran late tonight," she explained. "I thought perhaps we could watch a movie."

"Sounds good to me," Takashi said. He closed his pamphlet and tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans. "Any particular movie?"

"We don't have a huge selection of movies — mostly Harry Potter, the Samurai Champloo anime, the new Batman trilogy, and Zombieland," Saeko said apologetically. "Father and I don't watch much television."

"Zombieland is pretty funny," Takashi said. "What would be your weapon of choice in the zombie apocalypse?"

"Katana," Saeko said without hesitation.

"A gun would be good for distance, but I don't know how to shoot anything, but in laser tag," Takashi said. "Maybe I'd use my baseball bat. It's pretty solid."

"It's a good thing we don't have to worry about such things," Saeko said.

Later that evening, at the Busujima residence, Saeko and Takashi stood side by side at the kitchen sink. She washed their dishes while he dried them. "You really don't have to help me with the dishes," Saeko said. "You can go ahead and start the movie."

Takashi shook his head stubbornly. "No way. You made such great food so I should at least help you with the dishes. We don't have a dish washer back home so drying the dishes is usually my job anyway." He shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

Saeko stared at the soapy water as she scrubbed at the remaining dishes. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes and she quickly willed them away. It was stupid to be emotional about having someone help her. For as long as she could remember it had always just been her and her father. Having Takashi beside her being friendly moved her in unfamiliar ways.

"Are you okay?" Takashi asked concerned.

"I think I got some soap in my eye," Saeko mumbled. She rinsed the final dish and handed it to Takashi. "I'll go prepare the movie."

Saeko had just plugged in the newest Batman movie when Takashi joined her in the living room. She glanced up to ask him if he'd like a refreshing beverage when one look at his face kept her holding her tongue. His honey-brown eyes were apologetic and he held up his phone. "My dad just called requesting I return home."

"Oh," Saeko breathed with a disappointing sigh.

"Saeko, I'm so sorry," Takashi said approaching her. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He cupped his palm against her cheek. "I could argue with him, but I don't want him to ground me. I want to be able to see you safely home tomorrow after school."

"It's fine," Saeko said closing her eyes and leaning against his hand. "We did spend all day together."

"I'll call you when I get home to wish you good night, okay?" Takashi asked.

Saeko nodded and stepped back from him opening her eyes. "Sure."

Takashi stared at her lips for a few moments and then shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Thanks again for a good time. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi was tempted to punch his father. Did he have any idea how uncool it was that he'd had to bail on Saeko twice to return home to mommy and daddy? She probably thought he was so lame.

His father was waiting for him in the living room of their house. There were suitcases next to the front door. His father stood from the couch as soon as Takashi entered the room.

"Son, thank you for returning home. I know you had to cut your date short, but I wanted to see you before I left," his father said. Takashi's mother stepped out of the kitchen with the car keys in her hands. "I have an emergency at work and have to catch the red eye flight and I wanted to see you before I left."

"What sort of work emergency?" Takashi asked. His father worked for a big international corporation. This wasn't the first time he had to leave at a moment's notice. He frequently had to travel to the corporate headquarters in Sydney Australia.

"Something in the biological department," his dad answered. "This time I'll be going to the American branch." He glanced at his watch. "For which we need to leave now. My flight leaves in two hours." His father gave Takashi a quick hug. "Take care of your mother and good luck with the baseball team tryouts."

"Okay," Takashi agreed. He sat on the edge of the couch and watched as his parents hurried out the front door. His date with Saeko was cut short to have a two minute conversation with his father. He pulled out his phone and dialed Saeko — he'd added her to his speed dial.

"Hello?" Saeko answered, her voice breathy as if she'd been working out.

"Hey, it's me, Takashi," he said.

"I know," she said, he could hear the smile in her words. "Is everything okay?"

"My dad had to leave on an unexpected trip and wanted to say goodbye in person," Takashi explained. "Why are you so breathless?"

"I— I went for a run," Saeko said.

"Oh," Takashi said. "So, what are you wearing?" he asked with a grin laying back on the couch and propping his feet on the arm rest.

"I'm wearing—wait, what?" Saeko asked.

"Come on, play along!" Takashi pleaded.

"Why nothing at all, Komuro," Saeko said in a husky voice.

"Really?" Takashi asked, almost dropping his phone.

Saeko laughed. "Of course not! Though, I am just wearing a thong and a frilly apron," she said.

"You went running in a thong and apron?" Takashi asked. His mouth watered at the idea and he wiped at his nose to clear away a smudge of blood.

"I was cleaning the kitchen," Saeko continued in that husky voice she used earlier. "I was preparing our lunch for tomorrow."

"I thought you were running," Takashi said.

"Do you want me to play this game or not?" Saeko asked in an amused tone.

"Honestly, I want to be snuggled up with you on the couch in your living room watching Batman," Takashi said.

"I know," Saeko said. "Why don't we both go to bed. We had a long day and tomorrow we have school. Find me at lunch, okay?"

"Okay," Takashi agreed. "Good night, Saeko."

"Good night, Takashi."

"Sweet dreams," he added.

"You too," Saeko said.

"Wait? No goodbye kiss?" Takashi asked.

"You missed out on that when you left shoving your hands into your pockets instead of pulling me into your arms," Saeko said. "See you tomorrow," she added before disconnecting.

Takashi held the phone against his chest as he stared at the ceiling. He could picture Saeko wearing nothing, but that apron and thong. He groaned as he pushed himself off the couch. Maybe a nice cold shower would be just thing he needed to help him go to bed. Monday had never looked so good!

* * *

_4/25/14_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I've really been enjoying the feedback on this story! It keeps me motivated and excited! Also, much gratitude to Gentizm! He makes writing this so much fun and challenges me to do my best! So thanks, Gentizm! As you can see, the countdown to Z-day is quickly approaching. And that's when the horror will start kicking in, though I suppose teenaged angst could be considered horror...Now, I'm off to enjoy Free Comic Book Day at my local comic store! _

* * *

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Six:**

* * *

**Monday, Two Days Before Z-Day**

The morning dragged on, but time eventually drew closer to lunch. He only needed to suffer through one more period before he met with Saeko on their mid-day date. Mr. Senju's history class was one of his more enjoyable periods due to his classmates. Both Saya and Morita shared the class with him.

At two minutes before class started, Morita took his usual seat next to Takashi and leaned close. "So, how was the date to the ninja museum?"

Saya, sitting in front of them, overheard the question and turned around to face him. "You took Saeko to the ninja museum? How unromantic," she scoffed.

"How did you know I took her?" Takashi asked. He didn't want Saeko to be subjected to rumors. He had been on the wrong end of public talk himself and didn't want her to suffer the same ordeal.

"I was there when you asked Hisashi for her number," Saya explained. She pulled a pair of scrunchies off her wrist and drew her long, pink hair into a pair of pigtails. "So how did it go?"

"We had a good time," Takashi said cautiously. His friends seemed unusually interested in his new friendship with the Kendo Captain.

"She's been making him lunch these last few days," Morita whispered to Saya conspiratorially. Takashi narrowed his eyes at Morita. No doubt he was enjoying his excuse to talk with Saya, but did he have to share his secret that he'd been sharing lunch with Saeko? "They've been sharing a meal under the big tree in the courtyard."

"Really?" Saya asked, her eyes wide and curious. Takashi sat back having decided to be amused rather than upset as his friends continued to talk about him as if he wasn't there. It was probably the longest conversation, if not the only conversation, he'd ever witnessed between the two. "That sounds serious. Maybe I should meet this girl."

"You're not my mother," Takashi grumbled, no longer amused. "Why don't you two stay out of it, okay?"

Saya sniffed. "I will not." She gestured between her and Morita. "We will not. We're your friends, Takashi. That means we're involved," she huffed turning in her seat, sending her long hair whipping through the air and smacking Takashi in the nose.

"Hey," Takashi grumbled rubbing his nose. "That stung," he complained.

Next to him Morita sighed. "If I were only so lucky."

"Okay, class, today we'll be watching a documentary about space exploration," Mr. Senju announced.

Takashi grinned. The year was looking better and better. His teachers were cool, he was trying out for the baseball team, he had friends that were concerned about his well-being, and he was getting to know a wonderful girl that seemed genuinely interested in him. Could his life get any better? He felt happy and excited. His prospects for second year were looking very optimistic. He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair to comfortably enjoy the documentary.

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko sat under what she now considered her and Takashi's tree in the courtyard. She was nervous about seeing him again. She hoped he wasn't disappointed in her after their flirtatious conversation the night before. She'd been brazen and teasing in her responses. Really, the idea of cooking in a frilly apron with nothing else but a thong had been ridiculous. Thank goodness her father hadn't been home or she'd have been too embarrassed to play along.

"Mind if I join you?" Takashi asked, his shadow falling over her. Saeko nodded and he sat next to her, his shoulder brushed against hers. "I couldn't go to sleep for hours imagining you in that apron last night."

Saeko flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry about that," she mumbled busying herself with their food.

"Nothing to be sorry about, trust me," Takashi said with a grin. "I went to the battling cages with my friend Morita on Saturday. And I signed up for baseball tryouts later this week." He hooked his thumbs into the lapels of his uniform shirt. "This time next week you'll be looking at our school's newest Short Stop if all goes well."

"I can't wait to see you in a team uniform," Saeko said with a smile. It was her turn to see Takashi's face flush. She was about to say something about how sexy his tush would look, but noticed a second year making his way towards them determinedly dodging the underclassmen around him. "Do you know him?"

Takashi followed her gaze. "That's Morita," he explained. He leaned close, wanting to make sure that he wouldn't be overheard. "Before he gets here, I wanted to ask you something. Maybe you'd like to come with me to the Race Track Games tomorrow night?"

The Race Track Games was a gaming center with batting cages, video games, table hockey, bumper cars, putt-putt golf, and even an archery range. Her father used to take her when she was still in middle school. Saeko nodded. "I used to be a star at Dance, Dance Revolution," she admitted sheepishly.

"Great, it's a date!" Takashi exclaimed.

"I hope it's a better date than a boring museum in the middle of nowhere," Saya Takagi said coming near them — the nearby students hurried out of her way clearing an easy path. She stood over them with her hands on her hips. "Mind if I join you?"

Morita arrived a moment later. "Can I join too?"

"Um," Takashi glanced at Saeko, but she merely shrugged. They were his friends and she didn't see why they shouldn't join. "Okay," he agreed. Saya and Morita sat across from them on the ground.

"The Ninja Museum is one of my favorite places," Saeko said quietly. "I quite enjoyed our time there."

Saya opened her lunch kit and shrugged. "To each their own. I'm Saya Takagi. Don't bother introducing yourself. I know you're Saeko Busujima." She gestured to Takashi with her chopsticks. "That one won't stop talking about you."

Takashi sputtered. "That's not true!"

"Yes it is," Morita interjected. "So where are you two going on your next date?"

"The Race Track Games," Takashi said.

"That's better," Saya said thoughtfully. She looked between Saeko and Takashi and rubbed her jaw. Her eyes had a mischievous gleam. "How do you plan to get there? The trains and buses?"

Takashi cringed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I was actually going to ask my mother if she could drive us."

Saya and Morita began to laugh.

"That is a fine idea," Saeko said quietly. She didn't see any reason for his friends to laugh at his expense. It wasn't as if they were of legal age to drive. "It will allow us to stay longer if we do not have to rely on the trains."

"You're okay with that?" Saya asked curiously, toying with the tip of one of her pink pigtails.

Saeko shrugged. "I don't have a license. I would have asked my father if he were here."

Morita leaned over and whispered in Takashi's ear, but his voice wasn't quiet enough to keep the others from hearing. "This one is a keeper, don't screw up, buddy."

"So, did you decide to try out for the archery team?" Takashi asked Morita changing the subject abruptly.

"Try-outs are Wednesday," Morita confirmed.

"Isn't that a little girly?" Saya snickered. "In anime it's always the girl that's the archer."

"Archery is an honorable sport," Saeko disagreed. "Legolas is a boy and he's a gifted archer."

"That sissy elf? He looks like a girl. No guy has hair that nice," Saya argued with a grin.

Takashi laughed. "You'll find anything to argue about, won't you, Saya?"

Saya shrugged. "It is my hobby."

* * *

**OoO**

Hisashi arrived to Biology early, hoping to speak with Takashi before class. He wanted to make sure that he got hold of Saeko. He couldn't help, but hope, that maybe if Takashi found another girl to focus his affections on, that maybe they could be cool again. He missed his friend, but he loved Rei, so it was an unfortunate situation.

Rei sat next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "So today, we get to _choose_ our partners," she said emphasizing the word 'choose.'

"Of course, I choose you," Hisashi reassured her. He loved Rei, but sometimes she was needy. He suspected it had to do with her father being away from home so often working long hours as an officer of the law. She was a lonely girl. It was one of the things that Takashi never understood about her. "I'll always choose you, Rei."

She smiled at him and then sat up straight as the teacher began to write instructions on the board. Hisashi had a clear view of the emerald stones twinkling on her earlobes. She'd not taken the earrings off since he'd given them to her. Seeing her appreciation of them made the long hours he put in slaving away at his father's shop well worth it.

Takashi barely made it to class on time, leaving no chance for Hisashi to say anything to him, but he did offer him a friendly wave. Takashi acknowledged him with a head nod. He sat next to the heavy-set boy, Kohta. Apparently the two had become friendly after their shared lab assignment the previous week.

Hisashi was glad to see Takashi was making more friends, but it also pained him to find himself being replaced.

"So, today, you and your partner will pick your own research project. It will be due at the end of this six weeks. Choose your partner wisely, because you will share the same grade regardless of who might have put forth more effort into it," Professor Yamato explained.

"What do you want to study?" Hisashi asked Rei.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Rei said. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Hisashi sighed. Sometimes, Rei was so insecure that she'd deflect the conversation back to him. She didn't want to make the wrong decision. He knew that she sometimes had second thoughts about leaving Takashi and it translated into all her decisions. He didn't mind. He was a natural-born leader.

"Virology?" Hisashi suggested. He'd been interested in the study of viruses. How they spread, evolved, and were treated. There were no cures for viruses, but vaccines could be created to give the body the ability to combat a specific virus.

"That could be interesting," Rei agreed. "We could research about quarantine and vaccines. Maybe we should focus on just a few viruses in particular. Otherwise, the vast quantities of information would be overwhelming."

Hisashi watched as she started to scribble out notes. Once the idea was set she took off with it. It was moments like this that Hisashi felt his love for her swell in his chest. She was so clever and when she was passionate about something nothing could compete.

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko had just changed into her training gear. It had been a pleasant day for a Monday. She'd received the top score on her pop quiz in Physics, the essay she wrote for her English Foreign Language class last week had been returned to her with an A plus grade, she had met several of Komuro's friends during lunch, and after Kendo practice she'd go on a date with him to the market. Several of the younger girls in her club were commenting that she seemed in a good mood, but she merely smiled at them. Why wouldn't she be in a good mood? It was looking like her third year would be a great year!

"Captain Busujima?"

Saeko turned around with her bokken balanced on her shoulder to see Hisashi Igou. He was wearing his Karate practice uniform with his black belt firmly in place. "Yes, Captain Igou?"

Hisashi scratched the back of his silver head nervously. It was an unusual mannerism for the otherwise confident Martial Arts Captain. "Did Takashi get a hold of you on Saturday?"

Saeko nodded. "He did. Thank you for giving him my number."

Hisashi smiled in relief. "Good, I mean, I shouldn't have given out your number to anyone without your permission. It was given to me in confidence because we're both captains, but since I saw the two of you at the park I thought it would be okay—," he trailed off.

"It's fine," Saeko reassured him. "You are a good friend of Takashi?"

"We were and I hope to be again one day," Hisashi said staring down at his feet. His lips thinned as he considered his next words carefully. "Things are a little awkward right now," he confessed.

"Captain Igou, it is honorable to try and mend broken friendships," Saeko said. "However, one must remember not everything can be undone. Though it takes a brave man to make the attempt regardless."

"That's sage advice, Captain Busujima. If things play out as I intend, I hope that you will call me Hisashi."

"Okay," Saeko said tentatively. She wasn't sure why Hisashi seemed to be going out of his way to be friendly with her, but she wanted to do anything in her power to make things easier for Takashi. "If you'll call me Saeko," she agreed.

"Saeko, I just wanted to say, Takashi is a good guy. Be patient with him," Hisashi advised.

Saeko raised her eyebrow at that. Didn't Hisashi steal away Takashi's previous girlfriend? She kept her expression aloof. There was no need to broadcast her feelings for Takashi to his rival. Her belly felt full of butterflies as if her subconscious sensed the arrival of the man in question himself. She glanced up and saw Takashi enter the dojo, still in his school uniform, with his backpack strapped over one of his shoulders.

"The Martial Arts club will be having tryouts on Thursday. I wanted to confirm that we could have the entire dojo for the event?" Hisashi asked.

"You already confirmed this with me last week, Captain Igou — I mean Hisashi," Saeko said. "The Kendo club will have our tryouts on Wednesday so as not to interfere."

Hisashi nodded. "Right, I just wanted to confirm." He backed away from Saeko and cast Takashi a friendly wave before he headed to the Martial Arts Club portion of the dojo.

"Hey," Takashi greeted with a weak smile. He sat on one of the benches lining the walls of the dojo. He pulled out a textbook and a notebook. "I'm just going to work on my Geometry homework while you practice your forms."

"If you become thirsty, I have an extra water bottle in my backpack," Saeko said. "It's over there," she said gesturing toward the second from the right cubed shelf on the back wall. She lingered for a moment, tempted to hug Takashi in greeting, but he was already sitting down with his school work spread out before him. Feeling a little flustered, she moved to the center of the dojo and began to lead her students and teammates through warm-ups.

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi watched as Saeko effortlessly performed her katas and then sparred with some of the younger students. She was magnificent. The only thing that spoiled the atmosphere was having walked in on Hisashi getting friendly with her. He couldn't help but worry. Was taking one girl from him not enough for his supposed best friend?

He focused on the last set of problems on his Geometry homework. He doubted that knowing the Pythagorean theorem would help him in the grand scheme of life, but he worked through the lesson regardless. He still needed to do some preliminary research for the Biology project he was working on with Kohta Hirano — edible, toxic, and medicinal plants in the region. Hirano felt it would be a good topic to be well-versed in, should one become lost in the wild.

Takashi had been so absorbed in his homework that it took him a few moments to realize that Saeko was standing over him, dressed back in her school uniform, and with her gear stowed in the bag slung over her shoulder and ready to head out. Saeko cleared her throat. Takashi glanced up with an apologetic smile as he quickly stashed his homework back inside his backpack. He looked around the dojo and realized that they were the only ones present. "I didn't realize practice was already over," he admitted.

"Tryouts are on Wednesday so everyone is saving their strength," Saeko explained. "What were you working on? It must have been very engaging."

Takashi felt like an ass now. Saeko had done nothing wrong. She probably had to discuss business with Hisashi at the start of practice. They were both the leaders of their respective clubs. He should have greeted her more enthusiastically. He'd make it up to her. He offered her a bright smile. "Just some Geometry. I need to check out the library later this week to find a book about local herbs for my Biology research project," Takashi said.

They started walking alongside each other en route for the market. He was tempted to offer to carry Saeko's bags, but she looked so strong and confident he was afraid such a request would be considered an insult.

"That sounds like a fascinating subject. I have a book back home that might be helpful," Saeko said. She pulled out a small sheet of paper and held it out for Takashi to see. "I only have a few things to pick up tonight."

"Great! That will give us more time to relax," Takashi said. "Did you learn anything interesting today?"

"In Physics we discussed how an electromagnet pulse attack would work. It sparked a debate about how devastating that would be to our society. Some argued it would be more devastating to us than the atomic bomb in the great World War," Saeko said.

They reached the little food market near the school. There was a golden cat statue in the front window that had a moving front paw that ticked back and forth like a clock's second hand. Takashi opened the front door and the little bell at the entrance chimed. A middle-aged woman at the register looked up when they entered and offered Saeko a friendly smile and a polite, less enthusiastic smile towards Takashi.

"Hello, Miss Kaede. I hope you're well today," Saeko greeted the employee. She took a basket near the door and started for the nearest aisle.

"Good evening, Saeko," Miss Kaede greeted.

They were halfway down the aisle and Takashi was mulling over the conversation from Saeko's class. "More devastating than the atomic bomb? How so?" Takashi asked. He reached for the box of noodles on the top shelf that Saeko pointed out and added it to their basket. "Do you mind if I carry that?"

Saeko easily passed the shopping basket to him and carried on down the aisle in search for the next item on the list. Takashi stared at her a moment dumbfounded. He wasn't used to having a simple request met with a simple response. He had prepared himself to assure her that he didn't think she was weak and that he was just wanting to be helpful. Saeko didn't even question him.

"They argued that since we are so dependent on technology that if you were to strip it from us we would be useless. Few people know how to hunt their own food or start their own fire. Many skills that our grandparents had have been lost." Saeko critically inspected an assortment of mushrooms. "I think the death from the immediate impact of a hydrogen bomb and the resulting morbidity from the radiation are worse. Humans can rediscover knowledge. It's been done before. The great fire of Alexandria that destroyed the library didn't lead to mankind's demise."

"It's not the end of the world, but the end of an era," Takashi reasoned.

"Exactly," Saeko said turning to look at him. Her pale blue eyes lit up in pleasure at his answer. "I just need the almond milk and then we're good." She added the last item to their basket and then led them towards the checker.

"Did you find everything you needed, Saeko?" Kaede, the checker from earlier asked with a genuine smile.

"I certainly did, Miss. Kaede," Saeko said. "It was only a short list today."

"Who's your handsome friend?" Kaedo asked winking in Takashi's direction. Apparently, she had decided upon observing him in her market that he wasn't the untrustworthy juvenile delinquent that she had first surmised when he entered.

"This is my friend, Takashi Komuro from school," Saeko said by way of introduction.

"Saeko is a sweet-heart. You be kind to her," Kaede warned.

Takashi nodded. "Of course," he said. He watched as the total for the groceries was calculated. He was surprised by the cost. Apparently, Saeko not only liked fresh food, but she was a bargain hunter as well. He reached for his wallet and paid for their items before Saeko could protest. "We'll see you Thursday," he said earning a surprised look from both the checker and his date.

"Have a good evening, Mr. Komuro and Saeko," Kaede said.

They walked the few blocks to the subway and started the journey to the Busujima residence. Takashi's stomach began to growl as the scent of the fresh food began to waft up to his nose from the grocery tote bag he had slung over his shoulder.

"You won't have to suffer long, Takashi," Saeko assured him. "I just have to re-heat dinner. I made it last night." She gestured towards the bag he carried. "I'll just chop up a fresh salad to go with it. It won't take, but ten minutes."

Takashi felt his throat grow dry as he had a mental flashback of Saeko wearing the frilly apron and thong in the kitchen putting together some culinary artwork.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm drawing you in my Art class," Takashi admitted.

"Really?"

"It's for a project that's due at the end of this six weeks. Perhaps you'd like to see the drawings when I'm done?" Takashi asked.

Saeko smiled softly. "I'd like that. Let me know if you need me to pose for you."

Takashi had a visual of Saeko walking into a studio with nothing but a robe and unveiling herself before him — for the sake of his art of course.

"Are you okay?" Saeko asked in concern. She reached into her school bag and pulled out a handkerchief and held it up to Takashi's nose. "You're bleeding."

He snatched the handkerchief and tried to stem his nose bleed. "It's nothing. I just get these sometimes. It's probably just allergies," he mumbled.

* * *

**OoO**

"So, it was Batman that you wanted to watch?" Saeko asked. She stood near the television looking over the Blu-ray collection.

Takashi sat in front of the couch with a tray loaded with their dinner. "Let's watch Zombieland instead."

"Okay," Saeko said selecting that particular movie and putting it into the player. "Oh, before I forget, I'll be right back," she said excusing herself from the room. She came back a moment later with a pocket-sized book. "This is the book that is supposed to help one survive in the wild, so that they might recognize edible and non-edible vegetation and herbs."

She set it on the couch cushion behind Takashi's head before she sat beside him on the floor.

"Thanks," Takashi said reaching his arm around Saeko and hugging her to him. She seemed surprised by the action, but returned the embrace. They then began to dig into their meal while watching the post-apocalyptic comedy.

"Okay, if you could have one weapon in the zombie apocalypse, what would it be?" Takashi asked.

"Katana," Saeko said without hesitation. "You?"

"Hm, either a baseball bat or a gun."

"Do you know how to shoot?"

"Not really, but it can't be that hard to learn," Takashi said. "But eventually you would run out of bullets."

"And a baseball bat might break eventually. Although, you have the same risk with an inferior quality katana," Saeko said popping a rice ball into her mouth.

"You know what I'd really want to have with me in an end of the world situation?" Takashi asked.

"A tank?"

Takashi laughed and turned to face her more fully. "No, I'd want you by my side."

Saeko smiled at him shyly. "That's the most romantic thing you could have said, Komuro."

"Yeah? How about this?" Takashi asked reaching his hand to gently cradle the side of her cheek while he leaned towards her to kiss her softly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Seven:**

* * *

**Tuesday, One Day Before Z-Day**

Saeko woke up extra early. It was the ten year anniversary of her mother's death. Twice a year, on Kaoru Busujima's birthday and the anniversary of her death, Saeko would visit her mother's grave to pray to her ancestors and ask for guidance. She stopped at a pharmacy near the train station and picked up a bouquet of lilies — they had been her mother's favorites.

She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and shook her head, trying to wake up. Perhaps she should have encouraged Takashi to go home earlier the night before, knowing that she had to wake up early, but she selfishly wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Part of her worried, that he would be snatched away from her prematurely.

It had started to sprinkle rain as she made her way through the cemetery and stood before her mother's grave. Kaoru Busujima had only been thirty years old when she was taken from this world. Saeko placed the flowers in front of the headstone and traced her fingers over the kanji of her mother's name.

She had worn a pale purple light rain jacket that morning and pulled the hood over her head. "Good morning, mother," she said quietly. "Sorry, it's only me today. Father is out of town. I met a nice boy. It's the same one I told you about last year. The one that bumped into me in the hall? His name is Takashi Komuro. He likes baseball and he makes me smile. Tomorrow are the tryouts for the Kendo Club. This time I'll be evaluating the candidates."

Saeko sighed and adjusted the flowers in the vase. "I wish I could ask you for advice about what to do with Takashi. I feel a strange sense of nervousness and excitement when I'm around him. It's almost like—," she paused biting her lip thoughtfully trying to think of the appropriate words. "What I have felt during a challenging fight in a tournament — except more intense and I don't have the proper training."

The rain started to fall a little heavier and Saeko could feel the chill of autumn trying to slip inside her rain jacket. "Good bye, mother. I have to go to school now. I'll be back with father on Sunday. He's taking Takashi and me to the Giants game. I'll tell you how it went then."

* * *

**OoO**

"Is everything okay?" Takashi asked. He and Saeko were sharing lunch again, this time without Saya or Morita's company. Something was a bit off about Saeko that day and he wanted to make sure it wasn't anything serious.

Saeko glanced up from her bento box and smiled at him weakly. "Sorry, I am just distracted."

Takashi's lips thinned at her comment. He learned the hard way that accepting such a vague answer might lead to further misunderstandings and hurt feelings. "Distracted by what, may I ask?"

Saeko leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. "Today is the anniversary of my mother's death. I visited her gravesite this morning before school."

He reached for Saeko's hand and held it, entwining their fingers, and rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. Perhaps it would be awkward that his mother would be driving them that evening. "Are you sure you want to go to the Race Track Games tonight? We could reschedule if you need some quiet time," he offered.

Saeko's icy blue eyes opened and she stared down at their joined hands. "No, I want to have fun with you this evening. Mother would want me to enjoy the day and not dwell on sadness."

The bell indicating lunch was over rang. Takashi reached for Saeko's cheek with his other hand and cupped her face with the palm of his hand. He leaned towards her and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm here for you," he said.

Saeko blinked at him dazedly and her lips curled into a slight smile. "I know you are. Thank you, Takashi."

"I'm walking you to class," Takashi said standing up and holding his hand out for her.

"You'll be late for class," Saeko said frowning. She accepted his hand and rose to her feet. She brushed her uniform skirt down.

Takashi shrugged. "Not that important to me whether or not I'm tardy." He didn't let go of her hand. "Lead the way." As they walked to Saeko's English class Takashi had to wonder if this was the first time she'd held hands with someone at school. He wanted to ask, but he was too concerned that it might spoil the mood.

It was the first time he'd held hands with someone at the academy. He'd never done that with Rei. Maybe he should have. The more he thought about the things he'd done for Saeko versus all the things he didn't bother to do for Rei, he was starting to think she was right to dump him.

"This is my class, Takashi," Saeko said quietly as they stood outside of her classroom.

"So, I'll meet you at the dojo this afternoon?" Takashi asked.

Saeko nodded. "I'll be there after classes are over," she confirmed.

Takashi stood at the doorway and watched as Saeko took her seat in the middle of the classroom. He saw the way the male students followed her every step and tried not to ponder why such an amazing girl was interested in him. He started his way back to his own classroom. He had really started to enjoy Biology. For the next week they were supposed to work on their research project with their partner during class.

He had the book he was borrowing from Saeko in his bag. It was already proving to be a very useful resource. Meanwhile, Kohta had been researching various other books on the subject.

"So what do we want to do exactly? I was thinking we could create a guide with illustrations of the various flora in our region," Kohta suggested. "What would be really cool, is if we gave a guided tour to a wooded area and pointed out the various plants."

"That sounds like a little more involved than what Professor Yamato had in mind," Takashi said, twirling his pen absently between his dexterous fingers. "I think making the guidebook would be ideal."

"We'll make the guidebook and include an optional tour," Kohta said by way of compromise. "I really need an A in this class. I'm applying for a special program this summer and my grades have to be stellar."

"What program?" Takashi asked.

"Just something my dad had suggested," Kohta said vaguely. "He has an interest in security. He and my mom are at a self-defense conference in the States right now."

"Really? What do they do for a living?" Takashi asked.

Kohta narrowed his eyes as he focused on writing out an outline for their project. "Dad's paying job is being a jewelry dealer. But his hobby is hunting and target practice. His father was in the military and most of his happy boyhood memories were spent at the gun range with grandpa. That's actually where he met mom," Kohta said with a brief grin looking up from his work.

"So are you home alone then?" Takashi asked. Maybe he should invite Kohta over to work on their project. Make sure he got a nice meal.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's not the first time," Kohta said.

"I have tryouts for the baseball team tomorrow after school, but if you want we can work on our project after that at my house," Takashi said. If he made the team he'd have a lot less free time starting the following week. "Mom always likes cooking for more people." Maybe he could ask if Saeko would like to come over too. She'd most likely be late at school with the Kendo tryouts.

Kohta rubbed his belly with a smirk. "I'm not known for skipping generous offers of home cooked meals."

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko and Takashi had just taken the train to Takashi's neighborhood. They would eat dinner with his mother and then she would drop them off at the Race Track Games Center. It was the first time Saeko had met someone else's mother in such a circumstance. She'd met the mothers of several of her father's Kendo students, but this was different.

She wasn't sure what to imagine the kind of person Megumi Komuro would be like, but her muscles were tensed and her adrenaline pumping. It could be that Takashi's mother was an overly defensive mother bear ready to defend her precious cub from the upperclassman woman trying to steal away his heart.

The woman that answered the door wasn't scary or intimidating. She had the same dark hair as Takashi and the same honey-brown eyes. "Welcome," she said with a kind smile as she gestured them to enter.

"Mom, this is Saeko Busujima," Takashi said by way of introduction.

"I've heard a lot about you, Saeko," Megumi said taking Saeko's arm and guiding her deeper into their home. "I have dinner waiting for us on the table. I hear you're quite the amazing cook. Thank you for making sure my boy has been receiving proper nutrition these past few days."

"You're welcome," Saeko said shyly. She glanced over at Takashi and pleaded with him silently to save her from his mother. She wasn't used to so much casual physical contact. It sent her nerves on edge.

"Hey, Mom," Takashi said stepping between them and gently extracting Saeko's arm from his mother's hands. "I want to give Saeko a brief tour around the house and then we'll join you, okay?"

"Sure, honey," Megumi agreed. "I need to finish preparing our drinks then." She reached up and patted Takashi on the cheek before she continued into the kitchen.

"Sorry about that," Takashi apologized. He didn't know why his mother was acting so strangely. She never treated Rei that way. Maybe she was on edge because his father hadn't called since he'd arrived at the airport overseas.

"That's okay," Saeko assured him. "So, about this tour?"

Takashi offered his elbow and Saeko hooked her arm through it. He led her down the hall. It wasn't a small home, but it wasn't a mansion like the Takagi's either – three bedrooms, two baths, living room, dining room, and kitchen. "My room is on the right, my parents are down the hall, and this room on our left is the guest/library," he explained. He opened the door to his bedroom, glad that he'd made up his bed that morning and had collected his laundry. He didn't have clothes strewn about. His walls were lined with baseball posters. "As you can see, I like baseball."

"I would have never guessed," Saeko said with an amused smile. "What games do you play?" she asked, gesturing towards his PlayStation.

"Mostly melee and a little bit of driving games. I might not have my license, but I'm pretty good in a virtual race," Takashi said with a grin. "Wait until you see me at the arcades tonight. I've yet to be beaten on one of those motorcycle riding games."

"That sounds like a challenge," Saeko said. "Come on, let's go join your mother before she thinks I'm doing something risqué with her son."

Takashi turned her so that she was braced against the wall, he placed his hands palms down on the wall on either side of her head and leaned down so that his lips were a hair's breath away from her lips. "By risqué, do you mean something like this?" He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers.

Saeko reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer, deepening the kiss.

"Kids! Dinner is getting cold!" Megumi called out in the distance.

Takashi drew back, the tips of his ears red in embarrassment. "To be continued," he whispered, pecking her on the lips once more. He took her hand and led her back toward the dining room.

"I hear you're captain of the Kendo Club," Megumi said as she served them dinner. "Your father is Master Daichi Busujima?"

Saeko nodded. "That is correct."

"I have to thank you. Something you said really motivated Takashi. With luck on our side, this time next week we'll be looking at the star Short Stop on the school's baseball team," Megumi said.

"Mom teaches fourth grade at the elementary school," Takashi said, turning towards Saeko.

"Do you enjoy it?" Saeko asked.

Megumi nodded. "They're respectful for the most part and they still try hard at that age. The worst part is grading all the homework assignments. You two dig in, I'll get you out to the game center after dinner. Since it is a school night I will pick you up around ten. I know you could have taken the trains and the buses, but if you want my permission to go on a date in the middle of the school week you have to abide by my rules. Takashi tells me that your father is currently overseas, Saeko. As the only parent present you'll have to accept my decisions."

"That's fine," Saeko agreed. "Tomorrow we both have tryouts for our respective clubs. We shouldn't stay out too late."

"Besides, you'll save money by having me drive you. It will give you more tokens for the games," Megumi said reasonably.

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi couldn't believe how much fun he was having. He and Saeko had been playing a motorcycle racing game for the past half hour and she was giving him a run for his money! His mother had been generous enough to give him extra money for the games.

He just barely beat her to the finish line. "Okay," he said breathing a sigh of relief. "Maybe we should move on to a different game?"

"You're just worried I might beat you if we were to play again," Saeko teased.

"Of course I am!" Takashi cried with a laugh. "Basketball?"

They ventured over to the hoops shooting game and waited for their turn. They played a few rounds, only once did a basketball bounce back and knock Takashi in the chin.

"Do you want some ice?" Saeko asked.

He shook his head and rubbed his jaw. "Maybe we could try a game a little less interactive." He glanced around and saw a rifle shooting Western game. It was entitled Cowboys vs Aliens. "Ready to take out some aliens?"

"I'm always up for a challenge," Saeko agreed gamely. They spent the next twenty minutes honing their aiming skills and shooting skills. "I suspect this is easier than the real thing," Saeko said. "There's no kickback of anything. I hear a real rifle can be rather rough on the shoulder."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about an alien invasion anytime soon," Takashi joked.

"I'll be back. I need to visit the ladies room. Try to leave me some aliens for when I get back," Saeko said.

"Of course," Takashi said. He watched as the violet haired beauty hurried to the restrooms. He glanced at his watch. His mother would be there to pick them up within the next twenty minutes. He leaned back over his rifle and aimed carefully at some of the aliens. He heard two familiar voices drawing towards his direction.

"Takashi?" a feminine voice called out.

He turned around and saw Hisashi and Rei standing behind him.

"Hi Hisashi, Rei," Takashi greeted setting his game rifle down. "What are you two doing here?"

"Date night," Rei said slipping her arm around Hisashi's waist and snuggling close against his side. "You?" Her expression was smug.

"Shooting aliens," he said gesturing vaguely behind him. He looked past Rei and Hisashi, but Saeko was still nowhere in sight. "How did you two get here?"

"I've got a hardship license," Hisashi explained. "There are perks to being the son of a famous mechanic."

"That's nice," Takashi said. He really wished that Saeko was there. He'd like to see Rei's expression. "Well, I hope you two have fun." He started to walk around them, but Rei reached out and caught his arm, turning him around.

"There's no need to run away, Takashi. We're all adults here. Why don't we play a game together?" Rei asked, with a saccharine smile.

He glanced at Hisashi and noted his silver-haired friend's discomfort. "Come on, Rei. Let's just enjoy our date."

Rei turned to Hisashi and frowned. "He has to learn to accept that I'm with you now, Hisashi. I know you want us to all be friends again." She glanced back towards Takashi. "What time is your mommy coming to pick you up?"

"In about ten minutes," Saeko said, coming up from behind. Her icy eyes were intense and her stance was protective. "Good evening, Hisashi. Miyamoto. Come on, Takashi. I promised to show you those DDR moves before we headed back home," she said smiling kindly at Takashi.

"I don't believe you're on a first name basis with my boyfriend," Rei said in a low, angry voice.

"Actually, Captain Igou and I are on a first name basis as the leaders of our respective clubs," Saeko pointed out calmly.

"Why don't we go check out the bumper cars?" Hisashi suggested, gently tugging on Rei's elbow.

"No, I think I'd like to play a little DDR. I'm quite good at the game myself," Rei said. "You wouldn't mind a little friendly competition?"

Saeko looked back at Rei, met her eyes directly with a stoic expression. "We are not friends. And it wouldn't be a competition."

"Let's go, Rei," Hisashi said pulling his girlfriend away. Rei grabbed hold of Hisashi's face and drew him close to her for a passionate kiss. Takashi blinked stupidly at them, unable to look aside.

Takashi watched them walk away feeling both hurt and confused by Rei's behavior. "Mom will be here any minute," he said looking over at Saeko. She nodded and started for the front doors towards the parking lot. Takashi felt a nervousness in his belly that he'd not felt before around Saeko. Was she upset? "Are you okay?"

"I'm not hurt," Saeko answered. She leaned against the brick facade of the building. "Why did you and Miyamoto break up?"

"That's not important," Takashi said. He really didn't want to talk about Rei. Seeing her and Hisashi that evening had been a painful reminder that he'd lost his longtime girlfriend. He saw them in class daily, but tonight was different for some reason.

"Komuro, do you care about me?" Saeko asked quietly.

Takashi scoffed. "Of course I do." Why did she call him by his last name?

"Then tell me about your relationship with Rei," Saeko persisted.

Takashi folded his arms over his chest. "Fine," he said huffing out a frustrated breath. "I've been in love with Rei since we were little kids around the age of five. We made a pinky promise to marry each other and I didn't expect her to easily break that promise," he explained.

Saeko arched a violet eyebrow skeptically. "You expected a girl to marry you because of a pinky promise you made when you were barely potty trained?"

Takashi could feel his anger mounting. The rage he experienced over the summer started brewing in the pit of his stomach. "You wouldn't understand," he growled. He could see his mother's tan Toyota sedan pulling up towards them in the parking lot.

"I understand, you're upset about a childish promise you made before you were fully able to appreciate what love really is," Saeko said quietly. "What you and Rei had wasn't love. It was puppy love."

Takashi's hands fisted at his side and he turned towards Saeko. She looked so calm. What did she know about matters of the heart? "And I suppose you know what love is?"

Her pale eyes grew wide before they narrowed. "Love is what my parents had. Love is where the man and the woman care for each other deeply and build one another up and don't constantly tear each other down. They support one another in their talents and in their weaknesses. Love is forgiveness. Love is raising your daughter to the best of your ability after your other half has been taken from you, yet the memory and the love you had together was so strong that it sustains you a decade later."

Takashi remembered that today was the anniversary of Saeko's mother's death. He opened his mouth to apologize when his mother rolled down the passenger window.

"Are you two ready to go home?" Megumi Komuro asked.

Saeko moved towards the front driver's door and bowed respectfully at his mother. "I must apologize, Mrs. Komuro, but I am unable to accept a ride home from you tonight." She held up her phone. "I will take a taxi home. I appreciate the offer. Thank you for dinner earlier." Saeko looked up and met Takashi's eyes for a moment and he thought he could see tears swimming in her icy depths. She walked past him back inside the building without another word.

Takashi stood for a moment shifting his weight. Should he go after her or not?

"Leave her be," Megumi said. "You've obviously done something to hurt that girl tonight. If you don't want to blow things you'll give her some space tonight. And you'll give her a big bouquet of flowers tomorrow, right before her Kendo tryouts."

Takashi listened to his mother and placed himself in the front passenger seat.

"Now that doesn't mean we won't wait in the parking lot and make sure she gets into that taxi, staying out of sight of course," Megumi said. "When we get home I'll help you order some flowers and you can have them delivered to her at school." She moved the car and parked in the lot, out of immediate sight, but with a clear view of the drive in front of the game facility. "What were you arguing about?"

"Rei," Takashi said with a frustrated breath.

"Really, honey? Don't you think you should let that little crush of yours go already? You were children. You can't hold a young woman to a promise she made as a toddler. Neither of you even knew what it meant to be married at the time," Megumi chided, echoing the words of Saeko. "You don't even know what it means now."

Takashi slumped further in his seat. He watched as the taxi showed up and Saeko got into the backseat and started off for the highway in the direction of her home. He only hoped that it wasn't the last chance he would have to talk to her.

He was tired of Rei ruining his happiness.

* * *

**OoO**

Aoshi Komuro, Takashi's father, paced anxiously as the details of the incident were laid down before him. There was an accident at one of the major labs stateside. His company had been hired in a research development of a certain biological tool. It had backfired. Instead of creating an aerosol that would render those exposed as calm and peaceful, it seemed to have mutated into something that changed them into raging monsters that craved living flesh.

"There must be a way to reverse this," Aoshi said.

"They're working on it sir, but there was a leak," his secretary, Geofry Smith explained. He'd been the one to call Aoshi on the emergency meeting. He'd been at the lab where the incident occurred. "The scientists directly involved have all been infected and it's somehow made it out to the general public. One of the scientists, Smoak, said the substance had undergone a rapid degradation when it was exposed to room temperature for too long. Whatever it mutated into has caused this disaster."

"Knowledge of the incident has made it out to the general public?" Aoshi asked in clarification.

Geofry's expression was grim. "No sir, the mutated virus has made it out into the general public."

"We have to sanction quarantine actions immediately," Aoshi said. "What has been done regarding containment?" He reached for his phone. He had to warn his family.

His secretary held a gun on him. "I'm afraid I can't let you call anyone, sir," he said with a cringe. "I'm under orders to kill anyone that threatens to reveal the role of the company in this fiasco."

Aoshi set down his phone and stared in disbelief at the gun pointed in his direction. "Who are you? Why wouldn't we warn the world of this disaster?"

"I work from someone higher up the scale than you, sir," Geofry answered. "We're here to make sure there's a cure created and that it's distributed before it is too late."

"Too late for what?" Aoshi asked. He pondered whether or not he could disarm Geofry. He might take a bullet to the shoulder for his effort. But, what would he do after that? He would wait and find out more information and then find a way to warn his family before this horror would make its way to his homeland.

* * *

_A/N: Some of you, like The Hero of the Dark and tymofey, may have noticed my easter eggs. Several of the teachers in this story are named after Naruto characters, Felicity Smoak is my favorite character from Arrow, and now the parents of the main characters also have first names taken from another popular anime series from the early 2000s. I wonder if anyone can guess what. Thanks to Gentizm for all his help in perfecting these chapters! He is my HOTD fact checker and keeps me from getting too OOC! As always, I enjoy each and every one of your reviews! They make me happy!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I just want to remind everyone that this is a fanfiction. It won't happen exactly like it does in the anime (or manga). Though, I'm re-reading the manga as I'm writing this chapter so no complaints about how off it is from cannon, because it's pretty damn close and I'm even using some of the lines. So, thank you Daisuke Sato for giving me so much awesome to work with! The first couple of days of Z-day will be close to cannon, but not quite. Then off to my own little version of HOTD once again._

* * *

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Eight:**

* * *

**Wednesday, Z-day: Part I**

The trains had run slightly behind schedule that day. It was a highly unusual occurrence and there had been no explanation about the delay. Takashi wouldn't have minded so much, he didn't generally see much point in arriving at school early, except he had hoped to find Saeko before classes started. He didn't know what her morning schedule was like, but he did know where the dojo was at.

He headed directly to the dojo, but Saeko hadn't arrived yet. He glanced down at his watch and with a grunt of frustration started back towards the main campus. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket once again and checked his messages.

Saeko still hadn't responded to his text messages.

She must have been angry with him.

"Hey! Komuro!"

Takashi turned around to see Hisashi running towards him. "Hey," Takashi greeted.

"You want to head to class together?" Hisashi asked.

"Sure," Takashi said absently. He and Hisashi shared their foreign language class together. He started to send Saeko a fresh text, apologizing for his behavior the night before again. "Good luck with tryouts this afternoon for the Martial Arts Club," he said absently.

"Thanks, but it's mostly just stressful for the new recruits. Is everything okay?" Hisashi asked, concern in his gray eyes. "Are you and Busujima okay? I'm really sorry about what happened last night with Rei. I don't know what's gotten into her. I saw Saeko take a taxi home instead of going home with you last night. I can't help, but feel partially responsible."

"Saeko and I had an argument and she went home on her own. Unfortunately, she hasn't responded to my texts and when I called her last night she didn't answer," Takashi said. He jerked his fingers through his hair in agitation. He toyed with the idea of telling Hisashi the truth — that he and Saeko had argued about his previous relationship with Rei. Saeko might have had some good points, but he'd been too sensitive on the subject to hear her out.

The teacher, Koichi Shido, a dark haired weasel of a man strode towards them. "Give me your phones," he demanded.

"What?" Takashi asked. He held his phone behind his back defensively. "Why would I do that? We're not in class."

"You can't use your phone on school property during classroom hours," Shido said holding his hand out. "Phones. Now."

"No way, go to hell. You're not my teacher," Takashi said.

Hisashi stopped him from putting his phone into his pocket by gripping his wrist. He shook his head in warning at Takashi and held his own phone out to the teacher. "I assume we will be able to pick these up after classes are dismissed this afternoon," Hisashi said.

Shido glared at Takashi with beady eyes, magnified by his glasses. "The more you delay, Komuro, the more detentions you're earning."

Takashi slapped his phone in the snake of a teacher's greedy hand.

"I'm not sure that your phones will be available for pick up after class today," Shido said clucking his tongue.

"They'll be ready or I'll be seeing the principal about your bullying tactics and pressing charges with the police about you stealing private property," Hisashi warned. "I expect our phones to be ready for pick up at promptly three-thirty this afternoon in the school's main office where confiscated items are to be safely stored."

"You can try," Shido said. "Who will they believe? A respectable teacher or two juvenile delinquents?"

"Fuck you," Takashi said shoving past the teacher with a hard knock of his shoulder against him.

Hisashi caught up to Takashi on the stairs heading to their introductory English foreign language class. He grabbed Takashi's shoulder when he started up the next flight of stairs. "Where are you going?"

"Rooftop," Takashi answered. He could feel his anger growing. All he wanted was a quick message from Saeko to make sure she wasn't mad at him anymore and now that crooked teacher stole his phone.

"All right, I'll let you borrow my notes, okay?" Hisashi offered.

Takashi nodded.

Hisashi squeezed his shoulder. "It's going to be fine, man. I've known Captain Busujima for a while now. I've never seen her as happy as I've seen her when she's with you. It's going to work out. You'll see." He offered an encouraging smile.

Takashi hoped Hisashi was right. He headed up the stairs for the roof, then thought better of it, and headed back towards his locker. He picked up his baseball bat and hooked his backpack over his shoulder— he might decide to work on his Biology project— and then headed up for the roof. At least he could use this time to blow off steam and practice for the team tryouts.

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko felt nauseated and upset. She'd been upset when she had left Takashi the night before and called a taxi to take her home. It might have been okay if she'd been able to text him or talk to him later that night, but she lost her phone in the taxi. She had contacted the taxi service, but her phone wasn't returned to their lost and found. Unfortunately, she hadn't memorized Takashi's number so she couldn't call him from the house phone.

Then, she had tried to talk to her father. It was still a reasonable time where his conference was held, but she'd been unable to reach him. She felt lost and sad. It didn't help that it had been the anniversary of her mother's death when her emotions were most near the surface. However, she still made a pair of lunches — one for her and one for Takashi. Perhaps they could talk during lunch. Maybe things would be okay between them. She had to hope that they would be.

She had attended her first period class, but apparently she and Takashi were the talk of the town. Just how many people had gone to the Race Track Games Center the night before? She didn't appreciate being the topic of gossip and decided to skip the rest of her morning classes and went to the dojo instead.

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi swung his bat hitting imaginary balls from his position on the school's rooftop. His imagination ran wild and he envisioned hitting home runs and being the recipient of the roaring crowds in the audience bleachers. Sitting front and center, louder than the rest, was a certain violet haired young woman cheering for him specifically. He probably shouldn't be skipping lecture, but he knew that Hisashi would share his notes with him. His old friend still felt guilty about what happened with Rei, and Takashi wasn't above milking that situation this one time.

He wished he knew Saeko's schedule. He needed to apologize for the night before. He positioned the bat across his shoulder and leaned against the railing to stare out towards the school grounds. The dojo was too far for him to see anything, but the building's roof. Was Saeko there? He'd just have to wait for lunch and find her. And then, he would apologize. He wasn't exactly sure why he should apologize, but he wanted things to be good between them. He wasn't about to let his hurt feelings of betrayal over what happened with Rei poison what was starting to develop with Saeko. If only she hadn't insisted on talking about his previous relationship.

He continued to stare towards the dojo. Maybe he'd see Saeko crossing the school grounds in that direction. He'd find her and convince her to skip class with him to enjoy the view. There was a lovely cherry blossom tree in full bloom that he was sure she'd enjoy.

There seemed to be a commotion at the front gates. He turned his attention in that direction. A handful of teachers were near the gates and they appeared to be in trouble. He gripped the handle of his bat anxiously when he saw one of the teachers have their throat ripped out by another teacher. His mind automatically flashed to the Zombieland movie that he'd watched with Saeko on Monday evening.

He hurried off the roof and immediately went to the class that he was skipping. He burst inside the classroom, slamming the door against the wall behind it. He grabbed Rei by the hand. He may still be hurt, but he did love her and would protect her regardless of recent events. "We have to go. Now!"

"Mr. Komuro! What is the meaning of this?" Professor Anko demanded.

Hisashi stood up seeming to sense Takashi's tension. "What's going on? And why do you have a baseball bat?"

"The school is under attack," Takashi announced to the class. "There was a murder at the front gate."

"Sit down or you'll have detention," Professor Anko warned.

"Stop acting like a crazy person!" Rei hissed pulling her hand out of Takashi's grip.

"I believe him," Hisashi said, taking hold of Rei's arm.

"We have to go," Takashi repeated.

Takashi, Rei, and Hisashi scrambled out of the classroom, Hisashi paused near a janitorial closet. "Hold up," he said. He pulled out a broom and unscrewed the brush part and handed it to Rei. "If he's right, then you'll need this," he said.

"What about you?" Rei asked.

"I'm a black belt in Karate. I am a weapon," Hisashi explained. "We need a way to contact our families. Make sure they're all right. My parents will be at the auto shop." He reached for his back pocket and then frowned. "Right, no phone," he muttered.

The school's intercom crackled to life. It was announced that the school was under duress. Students and teachers were to evacuate immediately. Then the voice was garbled and followed by a blood-curling scream. The doors to the classrooms opened in unison and students and teachers alike started to pour out in a panicked mass, screaming and trampling over each other.

"Great, now everyone is freaking out," Takashi said, gripping his bat tighter.

"You take the lead, Takashi," Hisashi said. "I'll guard our rear. We'll head for the roof and we'll use Rei's phone to call the police. Besides, the cell phone service is terrible inside of the school building for anything other than a text."

Takashi crossed paths with a pair of the shambling creatures that blocked their way towards the roof. "They aren't human, at least not anymore," Takashi said gritting his teeth. When his bat hit the head of the creatures they caved like rotten watermelons.

Hisashi captured one in a choke hold. Its head turned around one-hundred and eighty unnatural degrees and was about to bite his arm when an arrow protruded out of the creature's eye socket. Whatever was animating it stopped abruptly.

They looked up to see Morita with a compound bow and a quiver of arrows. "Don't let them bite you!"

"Thanks!" Hisashi called up shoving the dead thing off of him. He took Rei's hand and they hurried up the rest of the stairs.

"I didn't think you guys were going to make it," Morita said. He fumbled around his assortment of arrows inspecting one. "Stupid arrow. The fletching is messed up. I should have checked the arrows before grabbing this quiver."

"Behind you!" Takashi shouted out in warning.

Morita turned, too late to avoid having a zombie bite him in the neck. He shoved it away with his bow and Takashi leapt in and smashed its head. Morita, with shaking hands, touched his bloody neck. "Oh no."

"It's fine, it doesn't look too deep," Hisashi said examining the wound. "We can patch it up."

"You don't understand. I saw it happen. When they bite you, you turn into one of them!" He shoved the bow at Hisashi. "You might as well take this. It won't do me any good anymore. You can't fight them hand-to-hand. It's too risky."

"Don't talk like that, Morita, you'll be fine," Rei promised. "We just need to wait up on the roof and help will come. You'll see."

"Rei, you're the only one with a phone right now. Mine and Takashi's were confiscated," Hisashi explained. "See if you can get through to the police."

Rei pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She shook her head. "Police station just gives a recording. Let me try my dad directly." She dialed another number and bit her lip until it was blanched of color. "Dad's voicemail is full," she said worriedly.

Morita turned to Takashi. "You know that I'm a goner, right?"

"I refuse to believe that until I see it," Takashi said. Though, he'd seen plenty of horror movies with similar plot-lines. He had a feeling that his friend was right and that he was indeed done for, a monster in the making. "For now, let's just defend the roof. We've got a good view of the school grounds and we can plan our escape while letting the chaos inside the school die down."

"The question we must ask ourselves is, if this is an isolated incidence or not? How widespread are these monsters?" Hisashi asked. He held the bow confidently in his hands.

"I didn't realize you knew how to handle a bow," Takashi observed. Did Hisashi just know how to do everything well?

"I'm decent. As Captain of the Martial Arts Club I'm familiar with all the weapons the various sectors of our team uses," Hisashi explained. He positioned himself by the edge of the roof and took aim. He sent an arrow soaring into the arm of a shambling creature en route for a hapless victim.

"You have to hit them in the head," Morita grunted. He held his hand against the bleeding wound in his neck. His face had already started to turn a sickly gray color in the few minutes that had passed since he was bitten.

"I was aiming for the head," Hisashi said quietly through gritted teeth. He loosened another arrow and sent the zombie to the ground, allowing the would-be victim to escape.

Rei glanced around, eyes settled on the small observatory on top of the school. "I'll see if the Astronomy club has anything useful we can use while we wait," she said. She returned a couple of minutes later with her arms full of bottled water. "I found some drinks and snacks. There are also a few sleeping bags. We can probably hold out here for a couple of days, three at most."

"Did the water still work?" Hisashi asked.

She nodded.

"Okay, that's good for now. If the power goes out the water won't have enough pressure to reach the roof. While there are generators, they're in the school basement. With these creatures, I wouldn't recommend going down there," Hisashi explained. "And we can refill the water bottles while the power still works. We can hold out longer than a couple of days that way. Hopefully, we'll last long enough for help to come."

Morita laughed bitterly, running his hand raggedly through his messy light colored hair. "You really think you can last a few days with these blood thirsty things trying to eat you?"

Hisashi glanced at Takashi's baseball bat, Rei's make-shift spear, and at the mostly full quiver of arrows. "As long as the baseball bat and broom handle don't break and I'm able to reclaim the arrows, why not?"

"Just be ready for when I…," Morita started chomping his teeth. "Be ready. I don't try to eat you in your sleep when the change happens," Morita mumbled. He moved towards the railings and looked down at the school grounds with a pained expression. "It will happen before too long."

Takashi stood next to Morita at the railing and stared down at the carnage on the ground. His eyes scanned the area for any sign of Saeko, but he didn't see her anywhere in the bloodbath. Looking beyond the school into the city he could see the thick black smoke of fire soaring in the sky. This was not an isolated incident. There would be no rescue. "Dammit!" He pounded his fist against the railing in frustration. "This is like straight up out of a horror flick full of zombies."

Rei looked over the side of the building. "Oh, there's the Physical Education teacher, Takayama," she said pointing out a man in a tracksuit that was running. He was promptly surrounded by zombies and then fell to his death. She drew back from the sight in horror and ran to Hisashi, burying her face against his chest. His arm went around her automatically. "I don't understand why this is happening," she cried.

There was a commotion from the stairs, the lock on one of the doors leading to the roof creaked ominously as the metal began to weaken under the sheer force of whatever was behind the door. They turned to see at least a dozen of the creatures now moving up the stairs.

"You guys had better hurry out of here," Morita said. "I don't think there will be a rescue anytime soon. You'll just be sitting ducks here. You might as well use the chaos on the ground to your advantage and escape. I'll lead. I'm already bitten, so at least I can do this last heroic effort." He reached for Takashi and hugged him, his dark eyes glistened in tears. "You find that samurai woman of yours and you live, you hear me, Komuro? You make it out of this and save as many as you can. Make my sacrifice worth it."

Takashi nodded. "I'll be sure to tell Saya about your heroics," he promised. Now, he just needed to find Saya. He should have thought to rescue her too when he found Rei and Hisashi. Maybe Saeko found her and was keeping her safe? He would have to hope that the two women were together. If he thought otherwise, he might have given up.

A faint smile crossed Morita's lips as he pushed Takashi away and started to lead the group down the other set of stairs.

"But, the roof is the best place for a rescue helicopter to pick us up," Rei argued. She clutched Hisashi's arm. "We should stay here." She glanced at Takashi. "Just go get rid of those things and we'll be fine."

Takashi and Hisashi exchanged looks. They both silently agreed that the roof was a bad idea at this point, especially when zombies were starting to make their way towards them. A few days of water and some snacks with zombies on the rampage and no means of outside communication to arrange a rescue wasn't worth trapping themselves. "Rei, first of all, the roof cannot support a helicopter. And secondly, what about the others? We might be able to save more people," Hisashi said. "We're members of the Martial Arts Club. If anyone has the skills to survive this and help others, it's us. It's our responsibility to do what we can."

The sound of helicopter blades in the sky drew their attention and that of the zombies. A few of the creatures wandered over the side of the building, trying to follow the sound of the chopper. "I knew it," Rei said confidently. She wiped away a few tears with the back of her hand across her eyes. "We're being rescued."

"No, we aren't," Hisashi said, his gray eyes narrowed as he focused on the helicopters. "Those are Black-Hawks from the Self-Defense Force. They aren't here to help us. If they were, they wouldn't have ignored the carnage on the ground. They have orders and I promise you, it's not to rescue civilians."

The happy chiming ringtone of Rei's phone began to go off. The sound was a stark contrast to the horror happening around them. She quickly answered. "Dad? Dad?" she asked, recognizing the number.

"Rei! Thank God!" Detective Tadashi Miyamoto cried out on the other end of the line. "You've got to —- the city —- got it —- the city!"

Rei looked down at her phone and felt a bubble of panic in the throat. "It's out of range," she whispered. "How can it be out of range? He just called me!"

"What did he say, Rei?" Takashi asked, gripping her upper arms. "What did your father say?"

"It wasn't a good connection. He kept saying that we have to — something — and then he kept saying — the city," Rei said frowning. "Maybe he was saying we need to get out of the city?"

"Let's start by getting out of the school," Hisashi suggested.

They made their way down the stairs, Morita and Takashi in the lead. Morita had picked up a fire extinguisher and used it to bash the heads of several of the zombies. Takashi used his baseball bat. Hisashi and Rei lingered behind them with their respective weapons.

They came to a junction. There were zombies on both set of stairs. The stairs on the right had a horde feasting on the remains of a hapless victim. The stairs in front of them had a few shambling zombies making their way up towards them.

Morita's breathing had started to change. He reached up and grabbed Takashi by the lapels of his uniform front. "Don't let me change into one of them." He then ran forward screaming as loud as he could, drawing the attention of the zombies.

Takashi led Hisashi and Rei quickly and quietly to the side of him sharing the stairwell, but using Morita's noble distraction to sneak past the blood thirsty creatures.

Once they reached the base of the stairs Takashi looked back. Morita was being swarmed and his face was a terrible shade of gray and incredibly pained. He locked eyes with his friend and saw the desperate determination in Morita's dark eyes. Takashi took the bow from Hisashi and grabbed an arrow from the quiver across his back. He took aim and loosened the arrow, hitting Morita through the back of the head and penetrating the brain. His old friend went slack and the zombies around him began to rip his corpse into shreds.

"Murderer," Rei gasped.

Takashi ignored her and shoved the bow back into Hisashi's hands. "Remember, aim for the brain. Let's go."

* * *

**OoO**

It was near the end of third period and Saeko had ended up skipping more classes than she had intended. Going through her forms had soothed her frayed nerves and she felt both more calm and more at ease. As Kendo Captain she didn't have to participate in the tryouts for the club, as she would instead be on the evaluation team. Besides, she enjoyed her fourth period History class — they were currently studying the samurai of the Feudal Era. She changed from her workout gear back into her school uniform.

As she stood at the dojo's door, she heard a commotion coming from the front gates of the school. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, making sure that her restless night hadn't impaired her perception. She witnessed the slaughter of a handful of teachers at the hands of seemingly crazed people. Were they suffering from rabies? They appeared to be raging, mindless cannibals.

Her eyes grew wide as she thought back to that horrible movie she'd watched the other night. Were these zombies?

She needed to find Takashi. She cursed the fact that she had lost her phone at a time like this. She hurried back to her dojo and strapped her school bag across her torso and took her bokken back out of its carrying case.

Saeko started for the school, clearing the way with her bokken. She pushed aside the creatures, but the usual shot to the back and kidneys did little to deter them. They would just pick themselves right off the ground. However, she did notice that they were easily redirected. They seemed to be attracted by noise. If she ran light on her feet the creatures seemed to ignore her.

"Definitely, not human," Saeko reasoned. She looked towards the school grounds, many students were fleeing, screaming as they scurried away. Their screams seemed to attract more monsters than find them help from any heroic passersby. She did what she could to keep back the zombies, but they just seemed to keep increasing in number. As soon as she saved one student or teacher, another would scream out in need of assistance.

If this kept up she would never find Takashi.

She shook her head, she couldn't help them all. Decision made, she continued for the school grounds, clearing a path and saving those that crossed it. She didn't know where Takashi would be, but she was confident that he would survive. She was close to the nurse's office and made a bee-line for Nurse Shizuka Marikawa. The nurse would be useful in two areas — first aid and a means of transportation.

Saeko had witnessed firsthand on the school grounds that if bitten by those creatures you would soon turn into one yourself — if you weren't eaten first. She offered an honorable death to a young man that she found in the nurse's office by the name of Kazu Ishii. She took no pleasure in the act, but hoped that if the roles were reversed that someone would do the same for her.

"Gather a bag full of medical supplies," Saeko ordered the nurse. The buxom blonde cowered in the room's corner in shock. "Also, what kind of car do you have?"

The trains had run late that morning, perhaps this horror-fest was related? If that was the case then the zombie horde wasn't a localized event. They needed to find somewhere safe and public transportation wasn't an option.

"A little beetle," Shizuka said.

"If you'll drive, I'll protect you," Saeko offered.

Shizuka nodded. She strapped her purse over her shoulder and began to fill a duffle bag with medical supplies — gauze, bandages, salves, disinfectants. Saeko kept a guarded watch over the door. Her theory that the zombies weren't attracted by smell or sight, but sound seemed to be holding true. It was a helpful observation. Saeko was now grateful that her father was out of the country. She worried about the acquaintances that she couldn't help. What would happen to Kaede at the grocery market? What would become of old Yusuke — the attendant at the trains that greeted her by name when she went to school each morning? Would her life ever be the same after this?

"Okay," Shizuka said. "I'm ready."

Saeko looked the woman over with a critical eye. "No, you're not," she said. Saeko crouched down and ripped the nurse's skin-tight skirt creating a slit up the side to her thigh. "Now you'll be able to keep up."

Shizuka looked like she was about to cry. Tears filled her eyes. "This is Prada! Do you have any idea how much this skirt costs?"

"I'm sure it's worth less than your life," Saeko answered calmly. "Come, follow me."

They would need to cross quite a distance to reach the Faculty Room to acquire keys and then the vehicle barn. Saeko paused at the base of the school stairs trying to decide her next course of action. If Takashi was still in the building he'd have gone to the roof. Surely, he'd have quickly realized it would trap him and would come down the stairs.

Her mother, Kaoru, must have been looking over her that day, because running down those very stairs she could see Takashi with a bloodied baseball bat in his hands. Alongside him was Hisashi Igou with a bow and a quiver of arrows and Rei Miyamoto with a broom handle-turned spear in her hands. Hisashi had his arm around Rei while she kept shaking her head in a look of shock.

Who knew what sort of carnage they had faced?

"Shouldn't we keep going?" Shizuka asked quietly, standing at Saeko's back.

Takashi's dark eyes scanned the floor and found Saeko standing only a few feet away. They locked gazes for a moment and she felt relief like she'd never felt before. He was alive.

"Go for the heads," Takashi advised, his relief at seeing Saeko visible by the relaxing of his jaw.

There was a sound of a gun-like tapping coming from the Faculty Room. They hurried to that area to see Saya Takagi and a heavy set young man using a modified nail gun to kill the zombies. He'd just run out of nails by the time they arrived.

Saeko and Takashi ran side by side towards the scene. Saeko knew that Saya was an important friend to Takashi and she didn't hesitate to go about saving her. Together, they silenced the zombies, stopping whatever strange energy seemed to animate them.

"Saya, Kohta, thank goodness you're alright," Takashi said in obvious relief.

"Maybe we should find a safe place to barricade ourselves until help can arrive," Saya suggested.

They stood amidst a pile of debris. They hadn't been the only ones to fight for their lives in that area. The school was oddly quiet at the moment. Saeko would hope that meant that others had escaped, but she feared a less optimistic reality. She'd witnessed the insatiable hunger of these creatures. At least now, with Takashi and the others she felt that they had a reasonable defense against the enemy.

"With this horde? We need to evacuate and find a place not overrun with monsters," Takashi argued.

"Then let's find a place that isn't overrun and barricade ourselves there," Rei said. "Dad was trying to warn us."

"How do you propose we get there?" Saya cried out.

Saeko looked at Shizuka and the nurse shook her head. There was no way they'd fit in her little car now.

"We can take one of the buses," Kohta suggested.

Saya looked down at her blood splattered uniform. "Mother is going to be annoyed at having to take this to the cleaners," she mumbled. She fell to her knees on the floor, buried her face in her hands and started to sob.

"Let's just take a small break," Takashi said, shutting and locked the door to the Faculty Room. "We'll rest for a few minutes and strategize."

Saeko kneeled in front of Saya and hugged the pink-haired girl until she calmed down.

Saya pushed back, away from Saeko with a determined expression. "I just need a moment," she said excusing herself to the bathroom.

Saeko was tempted to utilize their little break to gather food from the cafeteria, but there was no need for panic. She still had the bento boxes and bottled waters that she had prepared for her and Takashi's lunch. It would have to suffice.

Saya walked back into the room, looking more composed. She had replaced her contacts with a pair of glasses. She pushed the frames up on her nose as she looked around the room.

Hisashi stepped back and the debris he'd been standing upon collapsed under him. He held his hand over his mouth to stifle his cry of pain as his foot became trapped. In spite of the dire situation, his gray eyes were calm though slightly pinched in discomfort.

Rei had been staring absently out the window, but at the sound of Hisashi's distressed cry she rushed to his side. "Hisashi," she whispered worriedly as she took his hand.

"Saya, how do we get him out?" Takashi asked, turning to the smartest person in the room.

"Leverage," Saya answered.

Saeko glanced around the area and found a long rod, that had once been part of the inner wall and used it to pry the weight off Hisashi's ankle. Physics had been a favorite subject of hers. Hisashi pulled his foot free, but already the flesh at his ankle was swollen and bright red.

Nurse Shizuka kneeled at his side and inspected the wound. "It's a bad sprain. It's going to be hard to walk," she fretted. "I didn't pack any ace bandages. I should have," she mumbled. "Maybe we should go back to my office."

Saeko glanced down at her own skirt, she preferred wearing the more modest longer skirt. The nurse's material was too flimsy and a quick look at Rei and Saya showed that they had chosen to wear the shorter versions of the school uniform skirt. Saeko ripped off the lower quarter of her skirt.

"Was that really necessary?" Rei asked. She had her hands on Hisashi's shoulders and a worried expression on her face that had changed into annoyance as she glared at Saeko.

Saeko ignored her comment. She didn't do things that weren't necessary. Answering rhetorical questions fell into the category of unnecessary. Saeko handed the long strip from her skirt to the nurse. "Make a splint as best you can."

Shizuka nodded and accepted the material and started to bind Hisashi's ankle.

Saeko stood, next to Takashi. His dark eyes were wide as he stared at her legs. He cleared his throat and looked pointedly away. In spite of the circumstances, Saeko felt her lips curl up into a slight smile.

"I know you're a skilled martial artist, Captain Igou," Saeko said. "But, hand-to-hand combat is out, regardless of your ankle. You'll have to fight from a distance. Once these things bite you you're soon to become one of them. You'll have to make good use of that bow."

"Why do you think he has the bow?" Rei snapped.

Hisashi stood gingerly on his feet, his face contorted in a grimace of pain. "I think we need to start for the buses. We'll look for our families. My parents are at the shop. Rei's dad is at the station."

"Mom is probably at home," Rei said. "Today is her day off."

"We'll make sure our families are safe and then we'll find a place to hold fort. My mother is at the Shintoko Third Elementary School and dad is out of town on business," Takashi said. He glanced at Saeko. "Your dad is out of town." He then turned to Kohta. "So are your parents." His honey-brown eyes turned to Saya. "What about your parents?"

Saya shrugged. "Our house is probably fortified. I'm sure my parents are making their way there if they aren't there already. The police and Self-Defense Force are mobilized so I'm confident that there will be shelters. I'd trust my parents over the government though."

"Before we head out, why don't we see what they're saying on the news?" Hisashi suggested gesturing towards the Faculty Room television.

The news wasn't good. It seemed the horror wasn't isolated to their region of Japan. It was also in the States. Moscow had gone dark. Beijing was in flames. Looting was rampant in Rome and Paris.

"This is definitely a pandemic," Saya said. "The whole world seems to be affected."

"We should head out. We must act as a team," Saeko said. She looked at Rei specifically. "We can't act selfish and let past grudges affect us. We all have valuable skills," she said. "If we find other survivors we should join up with them too."

"The front entrance is the fastest route to the parking lot," Hisashi said, taking a step and grunting in pain as he put weight on his injured foot.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Takashi offered putting Hisashi's arm over his shoulder.

"I'll help him," Rei said taking Takashi's place. "You keep those things away from us."

Takashi stared at her for a moment with hurt evident on his handsome face. Saeko tried to ignore the sharp ache in the center of her chest. The last time she and Takashi had spoken, it had been a fight about his ex-girlfriend and now here they were and it was evident that Rei's safety had been high on his priority even now. Saeko could admit to herself that she was jealous. How could she compete with someone that shared so many years of history with Takashi? She and Takashi had only really known each other for a week. She'd returned to the school building in hopes of finding Takashi, but he had not seemed to be worried about her. He'd gone to rescue his old girlfriend.

Saeko's father's voice echoed in her mind. Daichi Busujima wasn't a man to focus on what he couldn't change. He stressed the importance on focusing your energies on what a man could do and not what he couldn't do. She needed to take her own advice and not be selfish. What Saeko could do was protect Takashi and his friends.

"Got it!" Kohta declared with a manic grin.

"Got what?" Saya demanded. It was obvious she was fighting to keep down her panic.

"The nail gun was jammed. It should work now," Kohta explained. He stood next to Takashi eagerly. "So, where is the bus?" he asked, turning to Saeko.

"Vehicle barn, other side of campus," Saeko said. "Through the front gates. Avoid fighting if you can. We can't defeat them all. We just need to get past them."

"Let's clear a path," Takashi said with a determined and confident look at Saeko.

"Whatever you say, Komuro," Saeko murmured. She noted a flash of hurt across Takashi's face as she used his last name. She ignored it and in tandem the two of them moved in what appeared to be a choreographed dance that led their group to the vehicle barn. Her bokken and his bat laid waste to the zombie horde in their way.

* * *

_A/N: First of all, my beta **Gentizm** rocks. I swear, he has eagle eyes! Y'all should check out his story, "**Change of Heart**." It's on my favorite's list...go ahead...clicky, clicky!_

_And second of all, I'm glad so many people enjoyed the previous chapter! Hopefully, now that I'm having to dive into the cannon universe I don't stray too hard from the basics. So, pretty much the consensus is, everyone is hating on Rei. Please put away the torches. We won't be flaming the orange-haired lass anytime soon. I need her for the lovely angst she's granting me with her innate bitchiness! Plus, I'm having fun writing her. And she gets better! She's just a bit hormonal and stressed right now._


	9. Chapter 9

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Nine:**

* * *

**Wednesday, Z-Day: Part II**

Nurse Shizuka Marikawa sat behind the steering wheel for the Fujimi Academy school bus. "This is a bit more complicated than my car," she worried, looking over the controls.

Saya and Kohta had claimed a pair of seats next to each other — the Faculty Room incident seeming to have brought the two relative strangers into a fast, yet awkward friendship. Now that the immediate danger had passed, Saya was quite vocal in her displeasure of Takashi rushing to Rei's aid while leaving the rest of his friends to fend for themselves.

"Takagi, I'm sorry, okay? How many times do I have to say it?" Takashi asked. He stood with his hand on the back of her seat.

Saya scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. "It's Saya! At least call me by my first name, you jerk! Funny, you seek out the girl that dumped you, but forget about your oldest childhood friend. You knew that my Chemistry class was right across the hall for your Language class."

"I didn't know where your classroom was during third period," Takashi argued. He looked past Saya to Kohta. The bespectacled young man raised a dark eyebrow at him and shrugged. He wasn't going to help Takashi regain Saya's favor.

"I've told you my schedule quite a few times," Saya argued. "I guess you weren't listening. I shouldn't be surprised," she added bitterly.

Takashi sighed in frustration and started back towards the front of the bus. Now was obviously not the time to tell her about Morita's sacrifice. He'd have to keep that promise at a later time.

Hisashi and Rei sat in the front row of seats right behind the nurse. Hisashi's face had broken into a sweat as his injured ankle pained him after their run to the parking lot. He was barely staying conscious, though he kept a white-knuckled grip on the bow in his hand.

"There are more survivors heading towards us," Saeko said glancing out the side window.

Takashi looked out and saw a group of students along with the teacher that had confiscated his phone earlier — Koichi Shido. He opened the door to the bus, but Rei rose from her seat and grabbed his arm. She shook her head.

"Leave him," Rei pleaded. "You'll regret saving him. A man like that deserves a bad fate!"

"I don't like him either, Rei. However, if we're going to survive we need all the help we can get. We won't abandon anyone if we can help it," Takashi said making way for Shido and a dozen other students to climb on board. He promptly closed the door after the last of them boarded.

"So, we're going towards the city?" Shizuka asked Takashi. Somehow he had turned into the one everyone consulted when making decisions. If Hisashi wasn't so distracted by his pain, would they have turned to him? Takashi nodded in affirmation and the nurse started the bus for the streets.

"Who's in charge?" Shido asked as he made his way towards the back of the bus. He paused next to Saeko's seat, halfway down the aisle. "Are you in charge Captain Busujima?"

"We don't have one person in charge. We relied on one another equally to escape," Takashi said walking down the aisle from the front of the bus. He didn't like that sleazy teacher hovering so close to Saeko. "You don't happen to have my phone on you, Instructor Shido?"

The dark haired snake of a teacher smiled apologetically and adjusted his glasses on his face. "So sorry, Mister Komuro. It's in my office. I don't suppose you want to go back and get it, do you?"

Takashi brushed past him and sat next to Saeko. "Phones are useless right now anyway," he said. He leaned his head back against the vinyl seat and looked at Saeko. She was relatively clean considering the gore they'd left behind them. Her hands were fisted in the remains of her skirt and her long legs seemed to stretch for miles. He reached over for her hand closest to him and squeezed it gently. She offered him a brief smile, but then averted her gaze out the window on her other side.

"We lost Morita," Takashi said quietly.

Saeko turned back to him, her pale eyes wide in concern. "When? What happened?"

"We met up on the roof near the observatory. He saved Hisashi by firing an arrow into one of "them" that was trying to bite him. Unfortunately, he was distracted himself and another one of "them" reached him before he could defend himself. I was too far away," Takashi explained with a heavy sigh. Again, he could see Morita's expression of defeat when he held his hand over the bloody wound on his neck. "He gave Hisashi the bow. I think that's why Rei snapped at you for your comment."

Saeko nodded. "That makes sense. Did he turn?"

"No. I took the bow and shot him in the head before he could become one of "them" when a group swarmed him while he served as a distraction to save us," Takashi explained, his voice cracking in emotion.

Saeko was quiet for several moments, her lips pressed together in thought. "We will remember his bravery," Saeko said.

"I promised him that I would tell Saya of his bravery," Takashi confessed. He looked ahead on the bus to where Saya and Kohta shared a seat. He wasn't ready to tell her just yet. His childhood friend was barely holding it together as it was and it seemed that her anger towards him was the only thing keeping her calm. He'd let her keep that focus for a bit longer.

"When did you learn to shoot?" Saeko asked.

"Excuse me?" Takashi asked, blinking at her in confusion.

"The arrow. A headshot isn't easy for some novice," Saeko reasoned.

"Ah, well, Morita and I used to spend a lot of time at the Race Track Gaming Center. There's an archery section. While it wasn't my thing, I did join him a few times and learned to use the bow. The school only has recurves like they use in the Olympics. I think Hisashi has Morita's personal compound bow — which is better for hunting," Takashi said. His heart felt heavy just thinking about the loss of his friend. If only Morita had brought his own quiver of arrows, maybe then he wouldn't have been distracted by some busted fletching. Takashi pushed the sadness away, into the back of his mind. He needed to focus on survival. He'd reflect on the loss of friends later.

"Morita was a good man," Saeko said softly. Her gaze drifted back to the window. "He will be remembered," she promised.

"Thank you," Takashi said with a deep sigh. He shifted to be more comfortable in his seat and closed his eyes, intent on resting for a few moments.

* * *

**OoO**

Rei brushed aside Hisashi's silver hair and felt his forehead with the back of her hand. He wasn't feverish, yet he was still covered in perspiration. Perhaps intense pain could cause someone to break out in sweat even if there was no infection? She didn't know. She didn't know much about what was happening. The morning started out so normal. How did everything turn into a nightmare so quickly? She was grateful that Takashi had found a way to save both her and Hisashi. If it hadn't been for him, they might have been trampled in the chaos that ensued only minutes later than his pulling them out of class.

She thought it was a desperate attempt for him to gain her attention, but Hisashi believed him. This wasn't the first time that Hisashi's calm demeanor and willingness to listen had saved her. She could still hear the screams of her fellow students as "they" ripped them to pieces and devoured them. She could still see Morita's body go limp when Takashi put an arrow through his brain and she shivered at the memory.

Rei wrapped her arm around Hisashi hugging him tight. So many times over the past few months he had been her rock, especially after she'd been held back a year when that bastard altered her grades. Later, seeing her father on his knees apologizing to her had destroyed something in her.

She glanced over her shoulder towards the back of the bus where that very bastard, Shido, sat with his crew of students. She really wished that Takashi had listened to her and left him behind. One of the bullies that had accompanied Shido started pacing the center aisle of the bus.

"Why does Komuro get to make a decision that affects us all?" the bully, known by the nickname, Stone, asked. Rei thought his nickname stemmed from the fact that the idiot's head was probably full of rocks. Unfortunately, he was one of the largest members of the wrestling team.

"Now, now, Suzaku, calm down," Shido said. His voice was as slick as a crooked used-car sales man. Just hearing it made Rei's temper flare.

"What's your problem?" Takashi asked, standing from his seat. Saeko, who was sitting next to him also stood up.

"What's my problem? I fucking hate you, Komuro!" Suzaku raged. "Do you want to fight?"

"No," Saeko said, answering for Takashi. "It's you that wants to fight."

Shizuka pulled the bus over on the side of the road. "I can't handle all this tension right now," she said in a frustrated breath.

Suzaku's fists bunched up and he started to rush towards Takashi.

Rei stood from her seat and took her make-shift spear and dashed to Takashi's side, gabbing the dull end of her weapon into the side of Stone, knocking him to the ground like — well, a ton of rocks. "Shut up, asshole," she hissed.

"Great teamwork, Miss Miyamoto and Mister Komuro," Shido said, standing with a fake smile splattered across his reptilian face. He began to clap. "However, this incident only shows that we need a leader."

"And I suppose you think you're the best candidate," Saya said with a roll of her eyes. "If you ask me, he staged that little production," she said turning to Kohta.

"I am the only teacher and therefore the only one qualified," Shido answered in a reasonable tone as if he hadn't heard Saya.

Rei started back to the front of the bus and leaned over the nurse. "Please, let me out, Nurse Marikawa. I refuse to travel with that bastard."

"Rei!" Hisashi called out standing and gasping in pain the moment he put weight on his ankle.

"I'll get her," Takashi said clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You wait," he told Hisashi.

"Why am I not surprised?" Saya huffed.

"Let her go, she's a lost cause," Shido said.

Takashi glared at him. "You haven't done anything particularly heroic. She's been more useful than you thus far. At least she knows how to fight."

Takashi caught hold of Rei's arm, stopping her on the street a few meters in front of their bus. "Come on, Rei. Get back on the bus. It's just until we can reach the city and start looking for our families. Surely, you can put up with him until then."

"I told you that you'd regret saving him," Rei hissed. "The world would have been better off if such a man was dead. Why should Morita have died while that selfish bastard lives?"

"Look, the world is in absolute chaos around us. The best way for us to survive is for us to stick together," Takashi said. Rei's eyes grew wide as she spied something behind him. She grabbed his shoulders and tossed them both towards the nearby sidewalk.

* * *

**OoO**

Saeko felt her heart leap into her throat when a car almost ran over Takashi and Rei. Fortunately, Rei had pulled them both out of harm's way. Miyamoto's behavior lately might have been lacking, but there was absolutely nothing lacking in her reflexes. However, the car crashed into a nearby city bus and both flipped over on their sides from the impact.

"Takashi! Are you all right?" Saeko called out as she ran out the bus door with her bokken in one hand and his baseball bat in the other. She peered past the new wreckage. She gripped her bokken tight when she realized that the flipped over city bus was full of zombies and they were now swarming the street, blocking the way between her and the other two.

"Get back on the bus!" Takashi yelled out. He helped Rei to her feet. "There are too many of them. We'll meet at the East Police Station!"

Saeko was tempted to lay waste to the zombies that blocked her path to Takashi. She tossed his baseball bat towards him. He caught it with ease. "What time?"

"Five tonight," Takashi answered, propping the bat across his shoulder. "And if we don't meet tonight, then tomorrow at the same time."

Saeko nodded. "I'll see you then," she said, turning back to the bus. She would trust that Takashi would make it to the police station. She closed the bus door behind her and watched as Takashi and Rei ran down an alleyway away from the creatures. She leaned over Shizuka's driver's seat. "Do you feel okay to drive?"

Shizuka nodded, pushing back her blonde hair from her eyes. "We'll need to go a different route, but I can do it."

"I'm going to run to that convenience store real quick," Saeko said pointing to the store just beside them. "I'm going to get some ice. Will you be ready to go by the time I return?"

Shizuka nodded.

"I'm coming with you," Kohta said. He held his nail gun in his hands in preparation. Saeko nodded in acceptance at his request. She was glad to have the back up.

They hurried towards the convenience store, narrowly avoiding the zombies. They tried to be as silent as possible. The zombies were attracted to sound. Unfortunately, the door to the convenience store had a bell when you entered the front door. Saeko cringed, but made her way to the ice as fast as she could, also grabbing some aced bandages, a box of Naproxen, a six-pack of water bottles, duct tape, a couple of pocketknives, bungee cords, and a box of ziplock bags. She grabbed a recyclable cloth bag behind the counter, stashed everything inside, and slung it over her shoulder.

They were in and out of the store in under a minute.

Saeko only had to swing her bokken twice, and Kohta used his nail gun once.

"Ready?" Saeko asked Shizuka, closing the door behind them on the bus.

The nurse nodded and then shifted the bus back into gear and started in the direction of the police station by a different path.

Saya and Kohta moved up closer to the front of the bus and took the seat behind Hisashi. Saeko took the seat across from him. There was a very obvious segregation on the bus now. Shido's people versus their people.

"I'm going to re-examine your ankle, Hisashi," Saeko said.

Hisashi nodded at her, clutching the bow close to his chest. Now that Saeko realized it had belonged to Morita, to whom Hisashi owed his life, she could understand his attachment to it.

"But we brought you a present," Kohta said. He handed Hisashi a water bottle and a couple of pain relievers that they'd commandeered from the corner store.

"Bless you both," Hisashi said with obvious relief as he tossed back the pills and chased them with half a bottle of water.

"Could you put some ice in the ziplock bags?" Saeko asked Saya. The pink-haired genius busied herself with the task. "Okay," Saeko said pushing back Hisashi's pants leg. She propped his leg up using her school book bag. "Also, I have a couple of lunches for us to share after I take care of this."

"Your famous bento box?" Saya teased with a strained smile.

"That's right," Saeko said. She began to unwind the make-shift bandage from her skirt that was around Hisashi's ankle. His sprained ankle had certainly worsened since that morning. There was extensive bruising on the inner side of his ankle. A minor injury had become a more severe one since there hadn't been a real opportunity to properly care for it and rest.

"Bad time to get hurt, huh?" Hisashi said frowning down at his injury.

"Better than most of our classmates," Saeko pointed out. She took a bag of ice from Saya and laid it on Hisashi's ankle. "We'll let this sit for about fifteen minutes while we eat something. Then I'll wrap it again using the bandages and duct tape we found."

"Duct tape?" Saya asked.

"Best emergency reinforcement for any injury. Just ask any field medic," Kohta said.

They divided the lunches amongst them. Saeko took the time to feed Shizuka while she drove. After they finished eating, she focused on Hisashi's injury again.

Hisashi's gray eyes watched her closely. "You certainly seem to know what you're doing," he commented.

"My father runs a Kendo dojo so I grew up dealing with injuries. I'm by no means an expert, but I do know about RICE — rest, ice, compression, elevation," Saeko explained.

"I've spent most of my life in Karate, but I've never really suffered any injuries," Hisashi said frowning.

"That's good. Without previous history of injuries, let's hope that means you'll heal faster," Saeko said. She finished wrapping his ankle up securely and then set the ice on top of the bandages. "Unfortunately, this ice is going to melt."

"We'll have more water to replenish our water bottles," Kohta pointed out. He gestured to the empty bottles that they'd just finished.

"Good thinking," Saya said turning to him. "So, Takashi said your parents were out of town. Where are they?"

"New York," Kohta said. "They're at a Self-Defense Conference."

"Really? My father is at such a conference. What's your last name?" Saeko asked.

"Hirano," he answered.

Saeko's eyes grew wide and she started to chuckle softly. "I believe my father has met your parents. Do they favor guns?"

"Dad has an interest in security though he works in jewelry. Mom is a fashion designer, but she also has a hobby in guns. It's how they met," Kohta said. "Why would you think your father knows my parents?"

"He was telling me about his neighbors at the hotel. If they are together with my father then you can be assured that they are safe," Saeko promised him.

Kohta grinned. "Well if your dad is with my parents, I can assure you that he is in good hands."

"Your father deals with jewelry and you mother is a fashion designer? I don't believe you," Saya said. "Next thing you'll tell me is that your great-grandfather was a war hero."

"No, but my grandfather was in the military. He ended up captaining a private ship and met my grandmother — a violinist performing on board during a cruise," Kohta said.

Saya threw her hands into the air. "Unbelievable!"

"What about your parents, Saya?" Saeko asked.

"Your father trained my father in swordsmanship," Saya answered Saeko. "If we're looking for a place to hole up after we find everyone's family I would suggest the Takagi Manor. It will be well fortified and there is plenty of space."

"That would definitely make a good contingency plan," Hisashi agreed.

"What about you, Captain Igou? What do your parents do?" Saeko asked.

"Please, Saeko. I told you to call me Hisashi," he said with a brief smile, and only a very slight grimace of discomfort. "My father owns an auto mechanic repair shop and mom runs the front desk. The shop isn't far from the elementary school where Takashi's mother works. We can go there after we find his mother."

Traffic heading into the city started to become very bad.

"We can't make it to the police station this way," Shizuka said fretfully. She pulled the bus to a stop, the street too congested to go further. "An alternate route would be the Onbetsu Bridge."

"With traffic as bad as it is, we might want to abandon the bus," Saeko reasoned. She turned to Hisashi, he seemed the one most capable to help make decisions. Perhaps it was a characteristic of being a club captain? "I promised Takashi that we would meet him and Rei at the Higashi Police Station. The bridge will send us in the opposite direction."

"If we're having trouble crossing through this traffic they probably are too," Hisashi said. "Takashi said that if we didn't meet them tonight at five, then we would try again tomorrow night. We might have to wait to meet up until tomorrow evening."

"Where do your parents live?" Saeko asked Saya.

"On the other side of Onbetsu Bridge, just like Takashi's family," Saya said.

"Is there a problem?" Shido asked, coming towards the front of the bus. "As leader, I demand to know why you've stopped."

"I really don't like him," Shizuka whispered to Saeko.

Saya stood up and faced Shido. "This isn't a school trip. We have no obligations to listen to your tyranny. We have our own goals and they aren't the same as yours."

Shido held his hands out in a gesture of peace. "Japan is a free country. You are free to leave, but the nurse will be staying. My poor students might need her."

Hirano shot a nail from his modified nail gun at Shido, it grazed across the teacher's upper arm. "Damn, I need to recalibrate it," he muttered to himself glaring at his weapon. He looked back up at the teacher. "Your poor students are a big collection of bullies from Fujimi Academy. They can fend for themselves like all their victims at school had to." He turned to Saeko. "You take the lead and I'll guard the rear."

Saeko grinned at her new friend. If her father was with his parents she was confident in their safety. "You're a real man, Hirano," she said.

Shizuka and Saya helped Hisashi and the group collected their limited belongings. They left the bus behind, but not one of them regretted it.

"How do you feel?" Shizuka asked Hisashi.

"Better now that the Naproxen kicked in, and the duct tape seems to be holding a lot better than Saeko's skirt," Hisashi said with a slight smile. He adjusted the quiver strapped across his back and the bow slung over his shoulder. "I might even be useful in a fight this time. Are you okay, Nurse Marikawa?"

"I'm just glad to be off that bus. That man gave me the creeps," Shizuka said with a shudder. "I don't blame Rei for running out earlier. She must have known what kind of a person he was."

"Unfortunately, Rei is quite aware of the kind of sleaze-bag Shido is," Hisashi said.

* * *

**OoO**

The world had turned topsy turvy. Takashi had just left a man to die. Though, the metal-mouth gangster threatened to kill him and rape Rei, so he didn't feel sorry for him. A man like that didn't deserve the kindness of others.

Shortly after they had been separated from the rest of the group they were attacked by zombies in motorcycle gear. After stopping them, Takashi found an abandoned motorcycle and he and Rei had started off towards the rendezvous point at the police station. Rei had been calm when she'd asked him to pull over at the site of a police car. The two officers were long since dead. She'd plucked off a pistol and found several spare bullets. They kept the baseball bat, but they felt more confident with the gun.

Eventually, they ran out of gas and had to stop at a gas station where they proceeded to argue— Takashi didn't have any money on him and Rei had left her wallet at the school. Takashi resolved the problem by taking cash from the register to fill up the motorcycle with gas and when he returned to the pump it was to find that Rei had been taken hostage. He dealt with that situation and then he and Rei headed out in the direction of the police station.

The terrifying experience had caused Rei to cling to him. He couldn't help but be secretly pleased to have her breasts pressed against his back so tightly and her arms like a vise around his waist. She needed him. And he realized that in spite of everything, he still had very strong feelings for her. Was it love? He wasn't sure. He did know that he was willing to die for her.

It became apparent that heading deeper into the city wasn't the best of ideas, strategically. The streets were congested and the route to the police station was blocked. If they took the Onbetsu Bridge, it would take them in the opposite direction of where their friends were headed.

"If we take the bridge it will bring us closer to your home. We can check on your family," Rei suggested. "We don't need the others." She squeezed her arms around him tighter.

Takashi felt a wave of deep annoyance at Rei's suggestion. She would abandon their friends? "This is no time to be selfish," he said.

"This is the exact time to be selfish," Rei cried, her voice near hysterics. "Did you forget what all has happened?"

Takashi started for the bridge, because there really wasn't another route. "I told Saeko that if we aren't there tonight by five then we'll try again tomorrow at the same time," Takashi said.

It wasn't long afterwards that they spotted a familiar group of people on the walkway of the bridge. Shizuka and Saya had Hisashi between them, his arms over their shoulders as they helped him walk. Saeko was in the lead and Kohta had the rear guard.

Rei took off at a sprint the moment Takashi stopped the motorcycle. It was as if she'd never suggested abandoning their friends. She threw herself at Hisashi and Nurse Marikawa.

Takashi felt a major sense of relief when he laid eyes on the violet haired Kendo Captain Busujima. His relief warred with his even stronger sense of guilt at his thoughts about Rei only a few hours ago.

Saeko smiled softly. "I'm glad you're unharmed," she said.

"You too," Takashi said feeling like an idiot. He wanted to swoop her up in a hug and spin her around in relief, but he couldn't. Not when he realized that he still had such strong feelings for Rei. "What happened to the bus?"

"Difference of opinion with Shido," Saeko explained, meeting Kohta's eyes.

"He thought he was a god. We thought he was a douche bag," Kohta explained, amusement in his dark eyes.

In spite of it all, Takashi found himself laughing.

"It's getting close to dust," Shizuka said. "We need to find a safe place for the night. My girlfriend's place isn't far from here. She's always busy with work and is frequently out of town. I have a spare key in my purse," she said shaking the purse strapped over her shoulders. "I'm supposed to water her plants and keep an eye on the place. I don't think she'll mind if we use it considering the circumstances."

"How far is it?" Takashi asked.

"Not too far, maybe two kilometers from here. The apartment faces the river and there's a nearby convenient store. We can stock up on supplies there. We'll leave in the morning for the police station using her car. It's basically a tank on wheels for civilians," Shizuka explained.

"Can you walk?" Takashi asked Hisashi. His silver-haired friend was careful not to put any weight on his injured ankle.

"Better now that Saeko loaded me up with some pain pills, but not very efficiently I'm afraid," Hisashi said casting Saeko a grateful smile. Rei followed his gaze and frowned.

"I can take Hisashi on the motorcycle," Takashi said.

"You learned how to apply your virtual skills to the real thing?" Saeko asked.

Takashi grinned. "I was motivated."

Within the hour, they all reached Rika's apartment, Shizuka's friend. They only had to clear out a half-dozen zombies from the surrounding area. Saeko, Takashi, and Saya had made a visit to the corner store across the street and loaded up on supplies. The place had already been looted, but they managed to acquire quite a few useful items — particularly bottled water, toothbrushes, tooth paste, soap, more duct tape and bandages, and a couple of cigarette lighters.

"Since we don't know how this pandemic—," Hisashi said looking at Saya for confirmation that he used the right word. She nodded. "Since we don't know how this pandemic spread. I suggest we not drink any water from the tap. One possibility is that our water supply was poisoned."

"I thought about that too," Rei said. "If it's a virus of some sort it could have been contaminated water, aerosol distribution in the air, or a direct injection of whatever caused this madness." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder where ground zero is."

"It hardly matters at present," Shizuka said. "All we can do right now is try to keep ourselves sanitary and decrease the chances of diseases spreading."

Hisashi was given stronger pain medicine from a bottle found in Rika's bathroom medicine cabinet and laid out on the bed with ice on his ankle and his foot elevated by a pillow. The girls decided to conserve water and have a shared bath together. It was also decided, that as darkness settled around them, that they wouldn't use any of the lights in the apartment, only a few candles far from the windows. There was no need to advertise their presence. It wasn't solely the zombies that they had to hide from now. In order to survive, they had to keep their team small and functional.

To keep themselves busy, Takashi and Kohta had rummaged through Rika's weapons cache. There were machine guns, shotguns, handguns. "This is a combat shotgun. It holds twice as many shells are a regular one," Kohta said handing one of the shotguns to Takashi. He then pulled out a crossbow and whistled. "This is a Barnett Wildcat C.S. — a hunting crossbow made in England. We should get this for Hisashi. It would be a step up from his bow."

"Hisashi might have an emotional attachment to the bow. It belonged to our friend Morita," Takashi said. He held the shotgun in his hand and tested the feel of it. "How do you know so much about guns, Hirano?"

"I wonder how Shizuka's friend has so many high-powered and borderline illegal firearms," Kohta said examining the machine gun closely. "To answer your question, last summer I spent a month in the States for Army training under the military contractor Blackwater USA," Kohta explained.

"Does that have something to do with the program you were planning to apply for this summer?" Takashi asked, remembering a previous conversation between them in Biology.

Kohta nodded. "Not sure that's going to matter now."

"Good thing we're on the same team," Takashi said.

There was a commotion on the stairwell. Shizuka began to stumble down the stairs and Takashi hurried to the adult's side. She was incredibly drunk and overly flirtatious. He helped her to the downstairs guest bedroom. When he stepped out of that bedroom, he saw Saya sound asleep on the downstairs couch. He took the blanket that was folded across the back of the couch and laid it over his friend. She might not think he cared about her very much, but he did.

He had started back up the stairs to continue assessing the weapons with Kohta, when Rei found him. Apparently, she was also drunk. What did those girls do while taking that bath?

"Takashi," Rei said in a husky voice. She sniffled. "I'm scared. Will you hold me?"

Takashi sighed and looped his arm around her waist. "Let me take you to Hisashi. He's asleep upstairs," he explained.

Rei turned her face to his chest and began to cry.

"Don't worry. Hisashi is going to be fine," Takashi assured her. He felt really weird about how close Rei was to him. He cared for her as a friend and part of him still loved her, but he didn't feel right about this. "Tomorrow, we'll go to the police station and find your dad. Surely, he knows what's going on."

"You really think so?" Rei asked, turning her face towards him, her golden eyes brimming with hope. She stared at his lips and Takashi recognized her intentions.

He evaded her attempt at kissing him and disentangled his arm from around her. "Hisashi is upstairs," he said. He took her hand and led her to the sleeping form in the master bedroom. He picked Rei up and dumped her beside Hisashi. Hisashi's sleepy gray eyes blinked at him in confusion. "Your girlfriend, your problem."

Takashi started for the kitchen, not feeling ashamed one bit that he chose to run away from that awkward situation. What he saw in the kitchen shocked him to say the least. Leaning over the refrigerator pulling out ingredients from the crisper drawers was Saeko in nothing but a lacy white apron and a black thong.

Saeko glanced over towards him. "I'm making dinner for tonight and a lunch for tomorrow," she explained. She followed his gaze and looked down at herself self-consciously. "My clothes are drying. This is all I could find."

Takashi grinned, rubbing his nose absently to make sure he hadn't sprung a leak. "It looks fine to me," he said thinking about a certain phone conversation the other night. He was about to tell her more when the sound of a dog barking nearby caught his attention.

The next hour was full of a heroic attempt to save a little girl named Alice and a puppy after her father had been viciously murdered. It had been a group effort and a success. Unfortunately, it had also been rather messy as the girl had an accident while Takashi carried her piggyback. And his motorcycle had also been a casualty in the rescue mission.

After Alice had been cleaned up and tucked into bed and Takashi had been cleaned up, with his clothes drying it left him with nothing but a bath towel wrapped around his waist. He settled into the kitchen with Saeko. Suddenly, her apron and thong didn't seem so unusual considering his own state of undress.

"How come you're the only girl that didn't get drunk?" Takashi asked. He'd devoured the meal that Saeko had made for them.

She was still picking at her meal. The lone candle on the kitchen table illuminated her face with a weak wavering light. "It would be irresponsible considering the circumstances," Saeko answered. "And perhaps I was the only one that wasn't letting her disappointment in a boy affect her behavior."

"I called you last night," Takashi confessed. "Several times. I wanted to apologize for being an idiot. You never answered."

Saeko sighed and leaned back in her chair. "That feels so long ago considering everything that's happened today. I didn't answer because I lost my phone in the taxi cab."

Takashi breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't mad at him about their argument the night before. Though, if she knew about the thoughts he had earlier that afternoon she'd have every right to be angry with him. "So are we good?"

"We were never not good," Saeko said quietly. "I came back to the school to find you."

"I'm glad," Takashi said. He glanced at the digital clock on the oven. "It's getting late. I think we're the only ones still awake." He thought about where they might sleep. The upstairs master bedroom had been claimed by Hisashi and Rei. The guest bedroom had Shizuka, the little girl Alice, and the girl's puppy. Saya had the living room couch. Kohta took a sleeping bag outside, preferring to sleep under the stars on the balcony.

"I was thinking of making a pallet on the floor of the living room," Saeko said. "I don't mind sharing," she said.

Takashi didn't mind sharing either. He went to check on his boxers and they were only a little damp. He pulled them off the laundry drying rope and slipped them on. When he joined Saeko in the living room she already had a pile of blankets and a couple of pillows on the floor.

"Are you sure you want to share?" Takashi whispered.

Saeko looked at him like he had grown a second head. "We have spent the majority of the day fighting for our lives against the living dead. A couple of hours spent sleeping in your arms is the only things I am sure of," she said.

Well he couldn't argue with that. They slipped under the covers. Saeko laid on her side facing away from him and he laid on his side towards her. He took a moment to stare in appreciation at her exposed back and all the lovely skin that little thong left visible, before he drew the covers up to their chins. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close while his other arm was curled under his pillow. He buried his nose in her long, freshly shampooed violet hair and took a deep breath.

"Good night, Takashi," Saeko murmured.

"Good night," Takashi echoed, glad that they were back on a first name basis again.

* * *

_A/N: I appreciate you all who read, reviewed, favorited, followed this story. __Thanks to _**Gentizm**_, my awesome beta for keeping interested in this story and using his eagle eyes to keep me on track and making suggestions that really adds to the depth of each chapter! Please, check out his story, Change of Heart, as I think it's pretty nice. Also, I'm totally loving _**Draco38**_'s newest work, HotD Broken Blades._

_Yes, this is different than the series. They were actually able to get a good night's sleep back at the apartment after saving Alice and Zero/Zeke! Also, I decided to go with the timeline of the manga instead of the anime for the next couple of chapters, then we're off on our own adventure again._

_And if you're interested in a vampire HOTD story, check out my Insatiable. It is also Takashi x Saeko._


	10. Chapter 10

**Resolve of the Undead  
****Chapter Ten:**

* * *

**Thursday, One day after Z-day**

It was the first time in the last twenty-four hours that Saeko felt warm and safe. She knew that the feeling wouldn't last for long, considering that a zombie apocalypse was now upon them. She disentangled herself from Takashi's arms, he grunted in his sleep, but didn't wake up. She took a moment to let her gaze linger upon the sleeping boy.

She brushed her fingers through his dark, sleep tousled hair tenderly and watched as the deep frown line knitted between his eyes relaxed. He was not a boy any longer. This terrible event had changed him. Instead of bowing down and cowering, Takashi Komuro stepped up to the challenge and proved to the world that he was a man.

Saving Alice had been a good thing. It was something positive that the group could focus upon. In spite of the terror in the world, they were still willing to do the right thing, even if it wasn't the most practical thing. She was glad that Takashi and Kohta had worked together to make it happen. She and Rei did what they could to support them. The others probably would have helped, but they were sleeping heavily, either from medication or booze and waking them seemed cruel as they wouldn't have been able to provide tactical support, at least not yet. Though, later, they did all awaken and help as best as they could.

It was time for Saeko to pull her weight that morning. She could fight, sure enough, but remembering what they were fighting for was just as important. They were fighting for more than survival. They were fighting to live. Living meant helping a little orphaned girl and her new dog when her father was brutally cut down by humans too cowardly to politely decline a plead for help. Living meant sharing a meal and light-hearted conversation. Living meant being silly and for a really shallow excuse agreeing to have a community bathing party with the other girls. Living meant sharing the covers with the boy you liked with nothing but a thong and a flimsy apron to preserve her modesty.

Saeko rose from the pallet she'd made for her and Takashi and fixed the blanket around him. She thought about pressing a kiss to his forehead or something, but thought better of it. A chilling breeze from the air conditioner prickled her flesh in her revealing clothing. Feeling someone's eyes on her she looked across the room and saw that Saya's amber eyes were watching her curiously. Saeko made her way to the pink-haired girl and crouched in front of the couch. "Will you help me in the kitchen?" she asked.

Saya nodded and grabbed her glasses.

Saeko didn't wait to see if she was being followed. She made a quick stop to the bathroom, answered the call of nature, brushed her teeth, and then checked on her clothes. They seemed dry so she laid the apron aside and dressed in the remains of her school uniform, then put the apron back over that since she was about to prepare breakfast. There was no need to further sully her newly cleaned uniform. She checked on Takashi's clothes and noted they too were dry. She folded his pants and shirt, carried the clothes back to the living room, and set them near his pillow.

When she made it to the kitchen she noticed that Saya had just gone into the bathroom, probably to do her morning ritual as well. Saeko had taken stock of the food last night, so she knew where in the cabinets and where in the refrigerator the items she wanted were at. Omelets, bacon, and pancakes were on the menu. She set the skillet on the stove and began mixing ingredients for the pancakes.

Saya joined her momentarily, also wearing her recently cleaned school uniform. She looked around the counters. "What do you need me to do?" Saya asked.

Saeko handed her the mostly full carton of eggs. "I need you to crack open these eggs and fill that silver mixing bowl," she said gesturing to the bowl. "Then I want you to chop up these bell peppers and these mushrooms, shred this spinach, and add it to the egg mix. Then crumble this parmesan cheese into the mix," Saeko said laying the various ingredients before Saya — including a cutting board and chopping knife.

"I've never actually made eggs before," Saya commented as she started to crack the eggs. "The servants generally prepared the food." She set the empty shells back into the cardboard carton. She frowned in annoyance as she had to fish out a piece of broken shell from the mix.

"We're all learning new things," Saeko said. "You're learning how to make omelets," she said with a gentle smile. She had found a container of frozen fruit in the freezer and had set it on the counter to thaw out so that she could add it to the pancake mix. Her mouth watered at the idea of blueberry pancakes! She watched Saya from the corner of her eye as she worked. It was hard to believe this calm, determined young lady was the same one that cried on her shoulder yesterday at the school when all hell broke loose.

"Did you sleep well?" Saya asked, with a teasing grin.

Saeko felt the heat rise to her cheeks and ducked her head to try and hide her blush. "I did, all things considered. You?"

"I bet you did," Saya said with a snort of laughter. "You should know, Rei came downstairs about two hours ago, saw the two of you all snuggled together with hardly any clothes on, and then made a quick bee-line back up the stairs. I thought she was going to blow a gasket. I had to fight hard not to burst into tears laughing."

Saeko frowned. Why would Rei care? She was together with Hisashi. Did her little adventure with Takashi open her eyes to what an amazing man he was? Saeko didn't like the nervous feeling that notion created in her. She'd have to ignore it, like she did with most feelings that made her uncomfortable. She would trust her life in Takashi's hands. "He is a good leader," Saeko said as she poured the first of the pancake batter onto the skillet.

"Him being a leader, that was a bit of a surprise. Not that Takashi was a follower per say," Saya said. She set aside the egg carton, now full of empty egg shells and started chopping the bell pepper. "Though, I never thought of him as much of a leader though. He's more of an easy going daydreamer. He really has stepped up," she added the last thought quietly.

"Are you okay?" Saeko asked, turning her attention directly on the underclassman. "How are you handling this?"

Saya stared down at the peppers that she was chopping a bit forcefully. "I'm not going to break down and have another crying lag if that's what you're asking. I'm not shirking away from doing what I have to do to survive. I may not have skills with a sword or a spear like you and Rei, nor a gun like Kohta, or seem a natural at picking up these skills like Takashi. I'm sure once Hisashi is better he'll be the best warrior of us all. He's always good at things like that. But I do have one very powerful weapon." She set down her knife and looked up at Saeko, her amber eyes determined. "I have a very powerful mind. I'm a genius and I mean to use my smarts."

"Weapons can be taught," Saeko said. "Discipline, determination, and intelligence — those are valuable characteristics and you have all three."

Saya stared at her for a long moment, lost for words. She directed her attention back to her breakfast assignment. "Thank you," she said quietly. She added the final ingredients to the eggs. "So, how do we make this into an omelet?"

"Disciple, determination, and intelligence," Saeko said with a smirk. "It's an ancient art passed down from Busujima fathers to their children, though I am willing to share this secret with my friend."

Saya put her hands together and bowed at the waist in a playful mocking gesture. "Saeko-sama, please I beg of thee, share this wisdom with your humble student."

Saving the little girl last night had been a good thing. It was because of that reminder that they knew they were still human and still had functioning hearts. Their group just might be able to laugh again.

"And then I'll teach to properly care for the knife you just used to chop those vegetables," Saeko said. "Even a high quality blade loses its edge if not properly cared for."

"So says the master swordswoman," Saya said with a grin. "Do you really think it matters if we do the dishes? With everything that has happened?"

"We have to keep hope that things will get better. And we need to respect the belongings of Miss Shizuka's friend," Saeko said. She turned down the temperature on the stove top to keep the food warm, but to avoid over-cooking. "Shall we wake the others?"

"No need," Takashi said, standing in the doorway to the kitchen sniffing the air with a playful smile. He wore his recently cleaned uniform. "It smells so great that no one could possibly sleep with such delectable scents on the air." He made his way closer to them and accepted the plate full of food that Saeko handed him. "Thank you, ladies." He looked at them both, though his gaze lingered on Saeko.

"I think I'll go make sure the others are awake. I'm not sure their noses are as attuned to Saeko's cooking as yours is, Takashi," Saya said with a teasing smirk. She elbowed Takashi playfully in the side as she passed him.

* * *

**OoO**

After breakfast, the group prepared for the next leg of their journey. Breakfast has been a much appreciated surprise and enjoyed in various waves as some were quicker to rise than others during the morning. Shizuka had invited the girls to some spare clothing that Rika had in her dresser drawers. The pickings were slim, as Shizuka explained that Rika normally wore her uniform and most of her nicer clothes were in her luggage that she had with her.

The girls didn't mind, because they were able to replace parts of their clothing that had been destroyed in the violent events the day before. Maneuverability had been priority, so pretty much everyone went with a skirt of some sort. Sadly, there weren't any replacement clothes for the males, so they continued in their recently laundered school uniforms. The cache of weapons had been the most valuable of discoveries for them.

So, they packed their gear into Rika's military grade quality vehicle and made their way across the river. They feared the bridge would be either too congested with traffic or closed off by the military in an effort to contain the horror of "them" to the other side of the river. The river itself was shallow, so they drove through it. Kohta had sat on the roof alongside Alice singing a terribly violent version of _Row, Row, Row, Your Boat._

Inside the Humvee, it was cramped by the others and their supplies. Nurse Marikawa drove and Saya was in the front passenger seat serving as navigator. In the backseat, Hisashi sat by the right side window with Rei to his left, Takashi to her left, and Saeko by the left side window. When Takashi opened his eyes he noticed a couple of things. One, Rei was snuggled against his right arm, and two, Saeko's head was cushioned on his lap and her lips were very close to his…

"Ah hem," Hisashi cleared his throat loudly.

The noise caused Rei to stir, she smiled flirtatiously at Takashi, then seemed to notice Saeko and her expression darkened. "Wake up, Busujima," she said loudly. "You're drooling all over Takashi."

Saeko's eyes opened groggily and she hastily wiped her mouth in embarrassment. She sat up quickly and turned to face the window. Rei had a smug smile on her face. Takashi glared at her for a moment, before he casually stretched his arm behind Saeko across the back of her seat over her shoulders.

"She's probably tired from waking up early to make us a nice meal," Hisashi said, his soft gray eyes angry. "Which, I'll say again, thank you, Saeko."

"Twice was enough, Hisashi," Saeko said with slight smile. "Three times and I'll start to think you're trying to flirt with me."

"We need to get out," Takashi said abruptly.

"Why?" Rei asked, her voice clearly annoyed.

"We've made it to the embankment on the other side of the river," Takashi explained. He turned to Hisashi. "You feeling better?"

"Much," Hisashi said. "It's amazing what twelve hours of rest and proper care will do for an injury." His ankle was still bandaged securely, but he was able to put weight on it without howling in pain. The bottle of pain pills in his pocket served as a nice backup for when the pain did resurface. Hisashi had spent the majority of the morning perfecting his aim with his new crossbow, though he kept Morita's bow as a reminder and as an emergency backup weapon. Rika had a thick target for crossbow practice that they had reinforced using the seat cushion of the couch. Hopefully, Shizuka's friend wouldn't mind a few little holes in her couch. "I'll actually be useful in a fight now," he said gesturing toward the quiver bulging with arrows. Luckily, Rika had excess ammo, a lot more than the standard three to six arrows that came with the crossbow.

"I'm sure your value will only continue to present itself as we work together during this time of tribulation," Saeko said reassuringly.

"Thank you, Saeko," Hisashi said quietly.

"All right, stop flirting with my girl," Takashi teased. "If you'll excuse me," he said leaning over Saeko, his left hand resting on her bare thigh for balance while he used his right to open the back door.

"I don't mind you being in my personal space," Saeko said, with a smirk.

"I bet you don't," Rei grumbled. "Hurry up and get out. It's cramped inside this tank."

Once on shore, Alice clutched her dog, Zeke, to her chest. Most of the rest received a refresher course from Kohta on their respective weapons and instructions to use them properly. Hisashi was excited about the crossbow, Takashi was ready to take action with his shotgun, and Rei was very pleased with her bayonet. Saya chose not to have a weapon, at least not yet. Saeko didn't need instruction on her bokken, not that Kohta would know much about the non-range weapon.

"Lock and load," Kohta said with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes.

They didn't face much trouble getting the Humvee off the shore and onto the road again as they started for the Takagi Manor. Saya's family home was closest to the section of river they were at. At first, it was as if all of "them" had vanished and perhaps the events of yesterday were nothing more than a bad dream.

However, as they drew closer to the Takagi Manor the zombies began to show up in great numbers. It had only been a day! How could there be so many of these creatures? Needless to say, the bulk of "them" made it very difficult to drive. Barbed wire was stretched across the streets creating hazards for both "them" and anyone attempting to drive through it.

Takashi and Rei had been sitting on the roof of the Humvee when a barbed blockade appeared in front of them and almost caused them to crash. The abrupt movement of the Humvee resulted in Rei flying off towards the ground. Takashi leapt off the vehicle to protect her and things went to Hell in a hand basket rather quickly after that.

Hisashi climbed to the roof of the Humvee and sent arrow after arrow from his crossbow into the horde of "them", but he soon ran out of arrows. He switched to his compound bow, but ran out of arrows for that one too. He'd been about to leap after the pair, when Saya gripped him by the back of the shirt and forced him to calm down. Kohta was also on the roof, firing into the horde at a steady pace going as fast as Alice could hand him fresh magazines for his gun. Unfortunately, the noise from the gunfire only seemed to attract more of the zombies.

Takashi's aim with the shotgun was terrible due to the recoil. If you didn't destroy the brain they kept coming. His honey-brown eyes, normally so calm where growing wide in panic.

Saeko leapt out of the Humvee, not willing to leave Takashi to the fate of "them", then she started towards him and Rei. "I'll help you protect Miyamoto!"

"No!" Takashi cried out in alarm. "There are too many of 'them' for you to fight with your bokken!"

"I realize that," Saeko said calmly. She began to take down the zombies in front of her, but had difficulty reaching Takashi and Rei. Perhaps if she had a real katana she could make a difference in this fight. The outlook was starting to become more grim.

"At least, we'll die together," Takashi said quietly to Rei. The sound of his softly spoken words reached Saeko's ears and broke her heart for more reasons than one. She couldn't let Takashi give up. From the corner of her eye she could see him hug his former girlfriend, Rei, and turned his back on the zombies, prepared to die in the arms of his childhood sweetheart.

"No," Saeko breathed, sensing Takashi giving up. If he gave up…if he died…she would have no reason to keep on trying herself. She needed him to live. He was her important person. She hit another zombie that had come too close. Her heart stilled in her chest, skipping a beat, as the feel of the bokken cracking reverberated through her grip. One more good hit and the wooden sword would shatter from the fracture.

Then something happened and Takashi seemed to have a revelation. Using Rei's breasts, he steadied his gun, improved his aim, and he was back in the fight with renewed vigor.

Saya took one of the handguns and started to join the firefight at this point. "I'm not a coward! I won't hide while others risk their lives!"

Between Takashi, Kohta, and Saya the zombies started to back away from the sheer force of the bullets. Saeko gripped her bokken, but realized that she'd have to fight hand-to-hand against the superhuman strength of the creatures. She didn't feel optimistic about her odds.

Just when things looked their bleakest, a troop of armored warriors showed up to save the day. Their leader was Yuriko Takagi, Saya's mother.

The group from Fujimi Academy had reached sanctuary at the Takagi Manor. For now, they might have a chance at a brief respite. Saeko was led by Saya to her rooms so that they might both change clothing. Shizuka, Hisashi, and Rei had gone off to a different wing of the manor to tend to both Rei's wounds — her back from the fall and her breasts from Takashi's trick with the gun, and Hisashi's ankle.

"I think you would look good in this," Saya said. She laid an elegant blue kimono across the pink floral bedspread in her room. "It's just a little bit too long for me, but should be the perfect length on you."

"Thank you," Saeko said running her fingers across the silk material. "It's not exactly functional for a fight though."

Saya laughed. "You really don't have any idea who my parents are, do you?" Saya shook her head, pink pigtails bouncing cheerfully. "There's no need for us to fight while we're here." She sat on the edge of her bed and chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "You have feelings for Takashi," she stated.

Saeko sat across from her on the padded window seat. "Yes," she said. It had hurt to see him so close to giving up. The way he desperately clung to Rei was something she'd never seen him to do her. He'd held her hand, kissed her a time or two, but he'd never clung to her. Last night, sharing the pallet hadn't counted — what normal man would be able to keep his hands off a beautiful half-naked girl? She could hardly blame him for seeking comfort last night, embracing her after what they'd seen that day. He'd have been as likely to cling to Saya or Rei for that matter. Saeko didn't like the direction of her thoughts.

"You need to remind him that you're a girl too," Saya said. She gestured towards the kimono. "This should do it. It will show him that you're a lady."

Saeko smiled at Saya in gratitude. "You are strong, Saya," Saeko said quietly. She touched her temple. "Here," she said, then she laid her hand over Saya's heart and said, "and here."

Saya scoffed and stood up abruptly. "If you'll excuse me. I have some other pep-talks to give," Saya said with an arrogant smirk.

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi escaped downstairs. For some reason, Rei had asked if he'd apply her healing ointment to her injured parts since he was the one responsible for the wounds on her breasts. He had gaped at her in shock. Hisashi was in the next room!

"I'll just let your boyfriend know you need him," Takashi had hedged and quickly ran out of the room, a pillow hit the wall next to his head at his hasty retreat. He didn't know what her deal was. He thought they were about to die. He couldn't help the words that came out of his mouth in his panicked state of mind.

Hisashi had been quiet as he made his way to Rei's room to help with her treatment. There was only a slight limp to his step now. He seemed to be healing nicely. Takashi had been caught in the hall by Saya's mother, Yuriko Takagi. She had reminded him that he and Saya had been friends since Kindergarten, but he had never come over to the house to play before. She thought he was a pleasant young man and a good friend to their daughter. He had and always would be welcome in their home. She pointed out that it was only a matter of time before the city, and likely the world, lost electricity. There was no one running the facilities that supplied the power.

It was a stark reminder, that even though it was only the second day since the zombie apocalypse began, it would be hard to recover. If they ever would recover.

Takashi finally was able to make his way downstairs when he spied the most beautiful vision at the base of the stairs. Saeko wore a lovely blue kimono, her violet hair was loose about her shoulders falling down to her waist, and she looked calm and serene.

He gaped at her a moment and could see the blood coloring her cheeks. It was easy to forget how modest she was when she wore a ripped up skirt and bashed in zombie heads with such power and efficiency. "That looks really good on you," he said.

The blush on her cheeks deepened. "Thank you," she murmured. She looked around, avoiding his eyes. "This place is pretty magnificent."

"Yeah, we should be pretty safe here for a while," Takashi said, hardly looking at the inside of the manor. He couldn't take his eyes off Saeko. "So, where are you going?"

"I was told there is a koi pond. I enjoy watching them swim in their lazy circles with their bright colored scales. It's peaceful," Saeko said. She offered him a weak smile. "Sometimes I need to be reminded of peaceful."

Takashi opened his mouth to say something else, but he was at a loss for words. There was so much he wanted to say to Saeko, but he wasn't sure how to vocalize his thoughts. It was so much easier to talk to her before the presence of "them" came and ruined their world. He should tell her how worried he was when she leapt off the Humvee, knowing that she couldn't help him, but determined to do so anyway. He wanted to apologize for almost giving up.

"Hi!" A chipper, youthful voice called out. Alice ran towards them with an eager smile, her dog Zeke tucked in her arms, licking the underside of her jaw affectionately. "What are you two talking about?"

"Hello there, Alice," Takashi greeted. He crouched down and tousled her curly hair. "We were just saying how glad we were to have you in our group. I heard about how you helped Kohta. That was really brave of you."

Alice's smile grew bigger. "I couldn't leave big brother and big sister out there alone," she protested. She looked up at Saeko, her eyes wide in adoration. "You were amazing, big sister."

"I was just about to visit the koi pond," Saeko said. "Would you be interested in joining me?"

"Yeah!" Alice said, she shoved the dog at Takashi and grabbed hold of Saeko's hand.

Takashi watched them go with a bemused expression. He just got replaced by a little girl. Zeke yelped in his arms, demanding attention. "All right, I'll take you outside. You like to play fetch? I know I do."

* * *

**OoO**

Saya's father, Souichiro Takagi, returned to the manor later that afternoon. He beheaded one of his closest friends that had turned into a zombie. He wanted to honor his comrade by giving him a clean death. He gave an empowering speech and inspired the crowd with his confidence.

Lord Takagi's words had fueled a debate between her and Kohta Hirano. He argued that swords were inefficient and that the blade dulled quickly. Guns were better weapons. Saeko had of course argued with him. A gun was for the unskilled warrior. A sword made a great weapon depending on the warrior's skill, ability with a sword, and focus of said warrior. If one possessed all three traits then a katana would be a fine weapon for combat. She did point out that a katana must be properly cared for, just like a kitchen knife needed to be cared for properly or else the blade would be dulled.

Saya had announced to their group that she didn't intend to journey with them anymore. She was home now and there was no point in her venturing into the hell outside. Upset by the announcement, Saeko had gone to the koi pond to meditate.

It wasn't long before Saya joined her at the pond. Saeko felt that Saya was an important member of the team. Saya saw no point as there was no happiness left in the world. Saeko had wanted to argue with her, but she lacked the words and stared at the fish hoping for guidance.

Not long afterwards, the militant forces of Souichiro Takagi tried to strip the teens of their weapons. Kohta had begged to keep his guns, as he'd finally been able to make a difference. Takashi had defended him, telling Souichiro that Kohta had been the one protecting his daughter. Without Kohta's skills they would all have been dead before they left the academy.

Soiuchiro had relented and allowed Kohta to keep his weapons. He took Saeko aside and requested her presence in his dojo. Lord Takagi's dojo was slightly larger than her father's. It was in fine condition. She sat across from Saya's father as he informed her that he respected her father, Daichi Busujima, greatly. In fact, her father had trained him in the way of the sword.

He offered her a gift. "As I know, you too played a part in my daughter's protection. I wish you to have something more durable than a practice bokken," Souichiro said.

Saeko accepted the sword and took it out of its sheath. Her eyes widened in appreciation for the fine blade. The hamon was bright, indicating it's exceptional quality. The slightly curved surface made it seem like a Kissaki Mohoha Kogarasu Zukuri. She looked up and met Takagi's sharply intelligent eyes. "This is a Murata sword. The blade made by the Tokyo Armory by General Murata during the Meiji era."

"That it is," Souichiro said, pleased at her knowledge. "It is yours."

"I will keep it, to give to my father," Saeko said as she sheathed the blade and bowed her head humbly.

Souichiro laughed. "Definitely a Busujima. So humble. No, the blade is yours, Saeko. A fine warrior such as yourself needs a fine tool."

"Thank you," Saeko said, her voice choked by emotion as she hugged the sword close to her chest.

"Now, there's just one more thing I needed to talk to you about," Souichiro said. He waited until Saeko looked him in the eyes attentively. "Takashi Komuro is obviously the leader of your band of companions. Yet he hesitates to lead. He needs a strong support group and he has it. Help him lead. If my daughter will be continuing with you I want to make sure she's relatively safe."

"I believe in Komuro," Saeko said.

Souichiro smiled in amusement. "I know you do."

* * *

**OoO**

Takashi practiced with loading and unloading his gun. He wanted the movements to be second nature to him. He refused to have another incident where he fumbled for his bullets. He wouldn't panic again. Saya and Kohta had floored him when they said they considered him their leader. What about Hisashi? What about Saeko? They were much better leaders then he was. If he thought about the group in terms of a role playing video game: Saeko, Kohta, Hisashi, and Rei were the warriors. Shizuka was the healer. Saya was the mage — the intellect. He didn't really know how that ended up with him as the leader.

However, if that was how they felt then he'd do his best. He shifted the lever of the gun and readied it for a shot, then he emptied it again and started the process over. There was a brief knock on his door and it opened a moment later.

He was surprised to see Rei standing there with a shy smile. "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure," Takashi said, enabling the safety mechanism on the gun and setting it aside. "What's up? You feeling better? I'm really sorry for hurting your boobs." He ran his fingers through his hair in embarrassment. "I was sort of panicked." He sat on the edge of his bed.

"Did you mean it? What you said?" Rei asked, her golden eyes searching as she faced him.

"Mean what?"

"That we could at least die together," Rei said quietly as she sat beside him.

"You're important to me, Rei. Nothing will ever change that fact," Takashi said, feeling moderately uncomfortable now that he realized he was alone with Rei in his bedroom with the door shut.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice you before. I only could see your faults. Girls like boys that are cute and caring," she said with a soft smile before laying her head on his shoulder.

"I'm neither of those," Takashi said frowning.

Rei continued, as if she hadn't heard him. "I won't be able to go on if I knew that you felt love for another girl," she said.

"I think it's very weird that you're saying these things," Takashi said, abruptly standing. "You chose Hisashi. He's a great guy. I won't do to him…," he trailed off.

"What he did to you?" Rei asked, speaking his thought aloud. She stood and placed her fingertips on the exposed flesh of his collarbone where his t-shirt didn't cover. "It's my choice."

"No," Takashi said, gently pushing her hand away. "It's my choice. I think you should leave."

Rei huffed and then stormed out of his room leaving his door wide open. There was a rap of knuckles on the doorframe. He looked up to see Saeko standing there, still in the lovely blue kimono with a hesitant look on her face.

"I didn't hear anything," Saeko said quickly.

"Come in, and there wasn't anything to hear, so don't worry about it," Takashi said. His eyes focused on the object in her right hand. "What's that?"

Saeko smiled, genuine pleasure reflecting in her icy eyes as she laid the katana across his bedspread. "A gift from Saya's father. It's a Murata blade from the Meiji era. It's a high quality sword that has lasted for a century and a half. It's double-edged."

"That sounds sharp," Takashi said with a grin. He didn't know much about swords, but he appreciated Saeko's enthusiasm. There wasn't much to be enthusiastic about since the zombies entered their lives — well, aside from girls wearing nothing but an apron and a thong.

"It will be much more efficient than my bokken," Saeko said.

"Where is your bokken?" Takashi asked, he hadn't noticed it since they entered the Takagi Manor.

Saeko looked away. "It broke, during that last battle. One more hit against one of 'them' and it would have shattered completely," she said. "I'll be of more use as we go to look for your family and the others families."

He had no idea that she had been in such a precarious state. She wouldn't have been, if she hadn't tried to play the hero when he went after Rei after she flew off the Humvee. "Saeko," Takashi said, turning towards her and laying his hand across the back of her hand and squeezing it. "You don't have to come. That's something that Rei and Hisashi and I have to do. You don't need to risk your life."

Saeko stared down at his hand on top of hers and then met his eyes. "I will not abandon you. Ever," Saeko said. She slid her hand out from under his and left his room without another word.

Takashi stared after her retreating form dumb-founded. What was the deal with both Rei and then Saeko coming to his room. He ran his fingers through his hair again. "Girls," he muttered. If Saya came next he'd probably bash his head against the wall. He still hadn't told her of Morita's noble sacrifice. He double-checked his gun once more to make sure the safety was engaged and then hurried out his room.

He wanted to find Saeko, but he didn't know which room she was staying in. Why didn't he know these things? He started to walk down the hall, maybe he'd just knock on each door until he found her?

The third door to his left opened and Hisashi stood in the frame staring at him in puzzlement. "Hey, you okay?" Hisashi asked, his gray eyes concerned.

"Not really," Takashi said gripping Hisashi's arm. "We need to talk. You up for it?"

"Actually, I was going crazy sitting in this room. I was planning to go into the yard, maybe play with the dog," Hisashi said. "Now that I can actually walk around I don't want to sit here any longer."

"You want to toss a baseball back and forth?" Takashi asked. "Like we used to?" Like they used to before Rei came between them.

Hisashi nodded.

"I had some interesting visitors in the past hour," Takashi said as they made their way down the stairs.

"I heard Rei's voice," Hisashi said quietly. "I know she went to see you. I'm not mad."

"You should be," Takashi said. "That's not acceptable, Hisashi."

"Look, it's been a rough couple of days," Hisashi said. "You've stepped up. You're the hero."

They reached a recreation room inside the manor. There were pool tables, table tennis, and even a miniature bowling alley.

"On second thought, let's trying our hand at bowling," Takashi suggested. He selected a good weighted bowling ball while Hisashi did the same. "You're not exactly a coward, Captain Igou of the Martial Arts Club," Takashi pointed out.

"No, but I've been fairly useless since all this started. I've been more of a liability than an asset. Morita might still be alive if it wasn't for me," Hisashi said. "I saw the change in how Rei looks at you once we met up on the bridge. What happened? She wouldn't tell me."

Takashi didn't argue about Morita. The loss of their friend was unfortunate, but if Hisashi convinced himself that he was the cause, then Takashi wouldn't be able to change his mind. "We fought some of 'them' and then had an incident at the gas station. A thug tried to rape her and I shot him. We left him for dead," Takashi said.

"You know what happens to daughters of police officers?" Hisashi asked. He took aim and released his bowling ball, knocking all but one pin down. "They develop hero complexes."

"That's ridiculous," Takashi said. He watched as Hisashi picked up the spare.

"No, it's not. That's what attracted her to me in the first place. I was there to listen to her problems," Hisashi said. He leaned against a support column and waited for Takashi's turn.

Takashi picked up his ball and sent it rumbling down the lane. He pumped his fist in the air and whooped as he got a strike. "Fucking - A!"

Hisashi chuckled.

Takashi turned towards him. "What do you mean? I listened to her problems too."

"No, you tried to console her by saying things would get better. You look for a solution — it makes you a good leader, Takashi. There's no need to feel bad about that. What she needed, at least at that time, was someone to listen," Hisashi said.

Takashi groaned. "Girls," he said shaking his head.

"Yeah, girls," Hisashi said with a grin as he pushed away from the column and picked up his bowling ball again for his turn.

"So, tomorrow morning we'll head out and track down our families," Takashi said.

"I'm glad you've got my back, Takashi," Hisashi said.

* * *

**OoO**

Later that evening, an unwelcome guest made his appearance. The teacher Koichi Shido showed up just outside of the gates of the Takagi Manor with a school bus full of the remainder of those that set out from the academy on Wednesday. Their numbers had dwindled for some mysterious reason.

The truth behind why Rei was held back was revealed. She proved her integrity when she decided not to kill the crooked teacher — he wasn't worth killing.

The Fujimi Academy band of companions were even more motivated to leave the manor, but they promised Saya's parents that they would at least wait until the next morning.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for your support! Special thanks to my friend, **Gentizm** for his beta-ing this chapter! And yes, Takashi was really dense in this chapter and I wanted to knock some sense into him! I have to say, Saeko and Hisashi have been my favorite characters to write. Must be that cool martial artist personality!_


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